


Curiosity

by Wlwolves



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:48:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 46,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23487841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wlwolves/pseuds/Wlwolves
Summary: Siyeon is a princess supposed to inherit the throne.But what if she doesn't want that?What if she wants to leave and lead a normal life?What if she stumbles upon a new bakery in town and meets a beautiful girl?
Relationships: Han Dong | Handong/Kim Yoohyeon, Kim Bora | SuA/Lee Yoobin | Dami, Kim Minji | JiU/Lee Siyeon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 85





	1. The Princess

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language and I barely have any writing experiences so I'm sorry if there are a lot of mistakes in here.  
> Hope you enjoy the story!

Siyeon was princess of the Astellian Kingdom. She was supposed to inherit the kingdom when she becomes an adult later on in her life. However, she is a princess like no other. She was different than the usual princess, she hated wearing dresses and wanted to be free and herself. She disliked the ways of how most royals would treat the villagers that had rarely bothered them. She didn't like that most of them think lowly of the people living in the town instead of the castle. 

Because of that, Siyeon liked to sneak out of the castle whenever she could and whenever she wanted. She would sneak out and disguise herself so that no one would be able to recognize her as the princess. Sometimes, she would sneak out at night and go home at ungodly hours of the day, just so she could experience the festivals that only the people of the town could feel. 

Siyeon had been doing this ever since she was a young girl that wanted to be free and herself. She dreamed of leaving the royal life at 7 years old, and she started to sneak out the palace at 12 years old. She also started to take martial arts lessons just incase something unexpected happens to her. Even though it was hard for her to ask that, her parents had let her.

There were times where she almost got caught by one or two guards, but thanks to her martial arts skills, she avoided getting caught. This only gave more experience and a warning for her to be even more careful in the future. 

As she explored the town, she learned that there were bad parts in it. Once, she almost got robbed if not for her knowledge in martial arts. She knew not to trust people so easily, as there were fake ones as well. She knew it all too well. There were some snakes in the castle that she could name and people who only treated her nicely, to get what they want. They only did that since she was princess after all.

But there are good parts of the town as well. When she was knew to the town, there was a man that had helped her get to know the town better, introduced her to it, and gave directions. Once, she forgot to bring gold to buy a few things or to give to the poor, as she usually would, and a kind lady gave her some of hers.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon is 15 now, she grew to love the town, maybe more than the unbelievable amount of gold, jewelry, and riches that she has. And maybe even more than the castle itself.

She loved that, whenever she was outside of the castle walls and walking through the town, she could be herself. She could walk around however she wanted and liked. She could wear clothes that she felt comfortable with, and not some dress that she felt opposite with and confined of herself. She loved that, she could speak however she wanted to, speak what she wanted to speak, and not having to always speak formally with every single sentence that comes out of her mouth.

She loved that she didn't have to fake herself. Faking a smile, faking the way she talks, faking almost everything. Always putting up the "perfect" persona for everyone in the castle to see. She hated that she had to be "perfect". If that even existed.

The only thing that was unfortunate whenever she was outside of the castle was, the fact that she was princess. She wasn't really someone that actually lived in the town, she had limits to what she could and couldn't do. She didn't like the fact that she was forced into the life she was given.

Maybe, just maybe, she could leave one day. Or maybe have someththat is worth to leave for. Worth more than the millions of gold she will receive more than she already has, more than the crown that she will posses in the future, and most importantly, more than the throne and the whole kingdom that will be inherited to her.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Today, Siyeon had nothing to do in the castle. She was extremely glad by that, since that meant more time for her to sneak out again and go around the town. She would rather do that instead of spending hours just aimlessly staring into space.

People wouldn't really question her not going out of her room for a whole day. She was an introvert, she loved being alone with her thoughts. She'd rather spend her time in her bedroom rather than talking to people she wasn't close with. That's at least what people know about her.

The other side of her liked to be curious. She also had an adventurous side to her, one that lead her constantly sneaking out the palace and making it a habit of her own. She loved exploring the town and learning new things about it everyday.

She started getting ready for her little trip by changing her clothes, putting the things she needed in a small leather satchel and double checked just incase she forgot something to bring or something that'll make her stand out.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When she was walking around a certain part of the town, Siyeon noticed that there was a place that was being crowded by many people. She recognized the place that was being crowded, it was an old shoe shop that had barely any customers coming in. Except it wasn't, not anymore. She saw that the shoe shop had closed down and was changed into a bakery.

Due to her curiosity, she went in the bakery to see just how it had attracted so many people, including herself. When she first stepped in, the scent of newly baked breads and others had entered her nostrils. It was delightful for her.

The only thing that made her uncomfortable was how loud the place was. It was filled with people chattering and the sounds of plates clattering. She didn't like it, she wanted to leave. But, she decided not to since she wanted to try the foods that they served.

She finally made it to the counter and was greeted by a kind lady. She decided to try one of their puddings and ordered one. When she was about to pay, the lady had called someone to prepare her order. Siyeon wasn't really paying attention, but when she wanted to pay, she saw someone that took her breath away.

There was a girl standing, she looked like she was sculpted by the gods. Her beauty made Siyeon's breathing caught in her throat, her ability to function suddenly gone. Her heart beat picked up it's pace and started to beat fast and uncontrollable. Siyeon even thought that she was an angel for a second.

The lady behind the counter had coughed loudly to grab Siyeon's attention. Thankfully, it did. She quickly paid her, thanked her, and left to find a chair to sit in. She found one with another chair across with a table in the middle.

She was thinking to herself and stared of to space. Thoughts becoming louder than how the place was. The loudest one being, "What was that?". Siyeon was genuinely confused. She didn't know what happened to her. She didn't know what possessed her to make her act like that.

"Was it just a moment of admiration?" but Siyeon denies it. There was no possible way for her to admire someone like that. Could she maybe like girls? She's heard of people like that, but she doesn't know if those people include her or not. 

When she was just deep in her thoughts, a girl approached her with a tray in hand, giving her order. When Siyeon looked up, there she was again, the girl. Siyeon suddenly felt her cheeks reddening, herself becoming even more timid than she usually was. 

"Excuse me, I'm sorry for being rude but, are you okay?"

It took Siyeon a second too long to answer. 

"U-uh yes, I'm fine, thank you."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Hearing this, the girl relaxed and let sigh of relief escaped her.

"What's your name?"

Siyeon was surprised at herself, she didn't what took over her once again to suddenly ask that question out of the blue. But, there's no going back now.

"Minji, you?"

"Siyeon."

"You have the same name as the princess?"

Siyeon forgot, she forgot that she was princess. Panicking, she just agreed to it. Hoping the girl won't notice that she is, indeed, the princess.

"Ye-yeah. Coincidence right?"

Hearing this, Minji just agreed and giggle at her response. Siyeon returned it with her's as well.

"Please, sit down. I just noticed you're still standing up this whole time."

"Ah, you're right!"

"So Siyeon, I don't think I've ever seen you before. Are you new here?"

Once again, Siyeon panicked. But, she covered it up by controlling her expressions. She made up a lie.

"Yes actually. I live in another part of the town."

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Minji and Siyeon talked a bit longer than they planned they would. But they didn't mind it, they both enjoy each other's company. They loved talking to each other even though they had just met each other.

Siyeon had to make up stories of her childhood. She couldn't just say that she was born in a castle and was a princess. She didn't want Minji to know yet. But she didn't completely lie about her childhood, only changing the places, the people and others.

Surprisingly, Minji believed it all. Siyeon didn't want to lie to her, but she knew what she could and couldn't do. Speaking of her royal life was listed on the things of what she couldn't and shouldn't do.

In their conversation, Siyeon learnt a few things about Minji. How her smile could compete with the sun, how her laughter was the best music she has ever heard in a while, the positive energy surrounding her. Siyeon was sure Minji was perfect.

Unfortunately, Siyeon had to leave. The sun was going to set in a while, signaling her that she needed to go back. Even though she didn't want to. Both parties didn't want that actually. 

"I have to go now, it's going to be might time soon, it was nice meeting you Minji."

"I'm glad the feeling Is reciprocated. It was also nice meeting with you Siyeon."

With that Siyeon left and went back. She made sure no one was watching so she wouldn't be noticed. 

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When Siyeon arrived, she quickly changed her clothing and hid everything that was with her when she was outside of the castle. Made sure everything looked normal and went to shower to get rid of any suspicious scent off her.

After that, she went to the dining room to have a dinner with her family. It wasn't anything special, just something that happens everyday for her. She ate dinner and went to her room again.

After going inside, she changed once again, into her sleepwear. She got ready for bed since she was tired because of her little adventure today. She laid down in her bed and got into a comfortable position.

Before drifting of to sleep, she silently wished to be able to see Minji again, to spend more time with her again. It was rare for her to do so, she barely interacts with other people but Minji was different. She wanted to get to know her better. Become friends with her.

She doesn't know what's happening with her, what the feeling inside of her is. But, she just hopes that it'll all end well. And she hopes she's not the only one with this feeling. 

She started to slowly drift off to her dreamland. Feeling the tiredness seeping into her. Getting the rest that she needed. She didn't get any nightmares that night.


	2. The baker

Minji wasn't anybody special. She didn't come from a wealthy family. Instead, her family were full of bakers, or anything that was related to the kitchen. Even though their family wasn't rich or such, she was happy. 

The people around her made her happy. She grew up in the better side of the town, where nice people were more common. Since her family were bakers, she wanted to be one as well. That's when her mother had taught her about baking.

Minji could befriend people easily, since the positive energy around her was contagious. She could've, but she chose to only have a few close friends that she trusted. She knew the dangers of fake friends and not to trust people so easily.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Minji was also a curious child. She liked to learn new things. When she first discovered music, she started to learn how to sing when she was little. She also learned about dancing, sometimes she would dance by herself for a while when no one was watching.

One of the things that caught her attention was, the palace. She thought that place looked magical, only seeing how big it was and seeing how beautiful it was. She grew interested in it. Because of that she asked her father about the castle.

He said that the king, queen, the princess, and some of the important people of the kingdom lived there. He showed her how the king and queen was like, but couldn't provide information of the princess since she was only little and the princess had barely gone out of the castle.

Hearing this only made Minji even more curious about the castle, but mostly the princess. She wanted to know what she looked like, how her personality was. She thinks that she's a mystery for her.

Even though Minji had a sense of fascination towards the castle, she loved baking more. She wanted to follow her families footsteps of becoming a Baker and opening a bakery of her own when she grows up.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

As she grew up, she focused even more on baking and slowly forgetting about her fascination to the castle and the people that lived there. She barely thought about it anymore. She still knew it existed, but she didn't pay attention to it.

When she was 10 years old, she heard news that the princess, who was 9 years old, was coming to the town to explore it for her birthday. The whole town was getting ready to welcome the princess. 

Since Minji's parent's bakery was located in a smaller area of the town, the princess didn't get the chance to visit unfortunately. Minji was a bit sad by that, but understood why they couldn't visited.

She wishes that someday she could meet the princess. No, just look at the princess. Minji still wants to know about the princess, but not as much as she did when she was younger. 

She tried not to let it take herself away from her dream of opening a bakery, because she knew it was pointless. So, she distracted herself by learning more and more about baking. Slowly learning more recipes for her to try.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Her mother had let her help around bakery when she was 12. Sometimes, she would help them bake, serve orders, clean the tables, collect dishes, and others. She was excited when she was told she could help around the bakery.

This only made Minji want to open a bakery of her own even more. She liked seeing how the food could make other people happy. She liked making other people happy, whether she knew her or not.

Helping around the bakery also taught her about a few traits that people could have. She met a few rude customers as well. The ones that would complain of her being "too young". Ones that would say they're "taking too long". Those type of people.

Even though a couple of people has been rude to Minji, she took it well and moved on. She knew better than to throw a tantrum towards other people, as that could bother them as well. She already had a mature mindset even though she was barely a teenager.

She taught herself to be independent and not rely too much on other people. She didn't like it if other people were unhappy or was down. Especially if the cause was her. She was also an only child, that's maybe why she was independent. She didn't have an older sibling to rely on.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Minji was 16 now, her parents told her that they were moving the bakery into the center of the town. They said they could get more customers that way. Minji didn't mind it that much, she just wanted her parents to be happy. And if that made them happy, then she was happy.

It took a while for them to move, but when they did, the customers they were getting was overwhelming. They didn't know their bakery could be so crowded before, maybe their baking was better than they thought it was.

There were no breaks for them. Customers were lining up, Minji, her parents, and their workers were working very hard to try and serve every single customers that came in. 

Minji was definitely getting tired, she went from baking, to handling the counter, to cleaning the dishes, and serving people. Her mother told her to take a break for a while since she was younger. Even though she didn't want to, she obligated.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When Minji took a break for a few minutes, her mother called her again. She couldn't help but let out a silent groan. There was another girl in front of the counter around her age, trying to pay her order. Her mother told her to get a pudding ready, when she looked at the girl again, she was staring, at her.

Minji was confused and asked her mother if there was something on her face, but her mother said no. She looked at the girl again, and yet she was still staring, she didn't even look like she moved. It looked like she was hypnotized.

Her mother then coughed loudly to grab the other girl's attention and it worked. She quickly paid and left, Minji also left to get her order ready. But before she left, she asked her mother if she was allowed to have a conversation with the girl from before.

Thankfully her mother agreed and had let her go, not before shooting a playful look towards Minji that made her playfully get mad at her. She knew exactly what her mother was hunting at. They were open minded towards that topic so sometimes they joked like that. But Minji was secretly open to dating girls. After that, she left with tray in hand.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When she arrived, the girl was staring into space. She greeted the girl, but she looked surprised? Shy? She didn't know, but in the end the girl answered, just that it took her a bit too long to do so.

Minji was a bit scared, but not in a bad way. She was worried, one of her caring traits coming out. The girl told her she was okay and Minji felt relieved by that answer. She couldn't help but think back on the events that happened earlier, but decided to not question the girl, as she could potentially be embarrassed by it.

Minji learned that the girl's name was Siyeon. The same name as the princess, but Minji didn't think about it too much. Her mind did wander off to the time where she was fascinated by the kingdom. But she had a conversation to do and she wasn't going to get distracted.

Minji loved talking to Siyeon, it felt like the both of them connected with each other and felt comfortable in the other one's presence. Both forgot about time and continued to talk for longer than they expected.

Minji loved the way Siyeon's eyes turn into crescent moons when they both laugh at a joke, or when Siyeon's lips turn upwards when she smiles. She likes hearing Siyeon's laugh. She just liked Siyeon, but doesn't know in what way.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Eventually, Siyeon said she had to leave since the sun was going to set in a moment. Minji didn't even know how much time passed until Siyeon reminded her. She completely forgot about helping around the bakery.

She was too absorbed in her conversation with Siyeon, that she forgot about everything else. But still, she didn't want Siyeon to leave. She liked talking to her. She wanted to get closer with her.

Eventually, Siyeon left. When she did, Minji rushed to her mother and apologized for not keeping track of time.

"Mother! I'm sorry for not coming back for a while, I-" 

Her mother stopped her mid-sentence.

"Don't worry! It's fine, we handled it well. And you looked like you were really enjoying your conversation."

Minji didn't know why, but she blushed. It was true that she really enjoyed talking to Siyeon. Thankfully, her mother didn't notice her blush.

"O-oh, uh, are you sure it's fine?"

"Yes, of course! Why wouldn't it be?"

"Alright then, thank you for letting me talk to her mom."

"It's nothing, you can talk to her anytime. Just make sure she's a good person, then I'll let you."

Hearing this Minji smiled. The idea of her talking to Siyeon again made her heart do backflips, did she have a crush on Siyeon? This quick? She didn't know.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After the small conversation with her mother, she helped the bakery again. The amount of people that went in were less than before now. So her work wasn't as difficult as before.

Soon, night came and it was time for their bakery to close. They then went home, cleaned themselves up, ate dinner, and went to their own rooms to get ready for bed after a long tiring day at the bakery. 

Before sleeping, Minji hoped to meet Siyeon again. She hoped Siyeon felt the same as her, and wanted to come by the bakery again even if it was just for a while. She wanted to see her again.

After that, Minji slowly started to let the tiredness take over her. And soundly went to sleep. She didn't get any nightmares that night and got the rest that she needed.


	3. Their Little Adventure

Waking up the day after, Siyeon felt refreshed. Remembering yesterday made lips turn upwards into a smile. She then took a shower and went to another part of the castle. Where her friends was located. She had to tell someone about this.

Siyeon didn't have a lot of friends, that is supported by the fact that she only has two, Bora and Handong. Bora and Handong were daughters of the king's advisors. They met when their fathers had a meeting and left their children together to become friends.

Thankfully, nothing bad happened. They were being watched anyways, they were only 5 years old. They had their mothers watching over them so that nothing bad will happen.

Bora was someone extroverted, and the oldest out of the three of them. She was a year older than Siyeon. She was the one that started a conversation between the three of them. Without her, maybe the three of them wouldn't even be friends.

Handong was the youngest out of the three of them, being a year younger than Siyeon. At first, she looked like a cold person. But, she actually wasn't a cold person. She was actually really nice and respectful, she always had an elegant aura surrounding her.

Meanwhile, Siyeon was extreamly shy at first. She was nervous talking to someone that was older and younger than her. But when she noticed that it wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be. She started to join in on their conversation and eventually everyone got along.

The three of them ended up getting close to each other. They liked to talk about their dreams and what they wanted to do in their lives. They trusted each other. Siyeon even told them that she liked to sneak out the castle.

When they first heard about this, they were shocked. Siyeon could get in big trouble because of this, especially since she was princess. Siyeon had already expected this. She knew that they didn't mean any harm, they were just worried. There were a thousand possibilities that could come out of her doing.

Siyeon had actually invited them to her next little adventure around the town, she knew the three of them would sometimes want to leave the castle. Bora and Handong was doubtful at first, but they wanted to feel what it was like to roam around the town freely. So they did. They got disguised and left the castle.

But Handong and Bora didn't sneak out as often as Siyeon, only a few times a month. The both of them were never brave enough to explore the town by themselves, so they would only do it if Siyeon was there.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When she arrived in Handong's room, she asked her to come with Siyeon to go look for Bora as well. Handong didn't know anything but just followed since she trusted Siyeon.

They found Bora in the castle's garden, walking around while enjoying the view. They then came up to her and Siyeon asked them to come with her to her room to talk about something, privately. Even though they were confused and scared at the same time, they followed.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

"What's going on? Did something happen?"

Bora was the first one to speak and to ask a question. Handong soon followed with a similar question.

"Exactly, Did something bad happen?"

Siyeon decided that she was just going to be honest with them, telling what happened yesterday in the bakery.

"Well...something did happen, but nothing bad."

"Well what was it?" Bora asked.

"I went to a mew bakery in town yesterday, and was about to pay when suddenly, there was a girl. She was really beautiful that I made myself an idiot. Then, I took a seat and she gave me my order and we talked for quite a while."

"You met a girl? And talked to her?? For quite a while??? Who are you and what've you done to Lee Siyeon??" Handong joked.

The three of them laughed after hearing Handong joke. But then became serious again after Bora spoke.

"What happened with you and the girl?"

"Nothing, we just talked. She was really nice, I actually felt really comfortable in her presence and I want to spend more time with her."

Hearing this, they were surprised. Siyeon rarely felt like this. She was rarely in this level of interested in someone else. They let Siyeon speak more.

"But there was something else I was feeling when I was with her."

"What is it?" Asked Bora.

"I got butterflies in my stomach when I talked to her, sometimes I wouldn't even pay attention to what she was saying and was just there sitting there, admiring her."

Handong and Bora looked at each other and shared a glance. Both of them were thinking the same thing. Handong spoke about it first.

"Siyeon? Do you think you like her?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I? She's a nice person."

"I think what Handong meant was, do you like her in a more that friends way?"

Siyeon was shocked upon hearing this, she didn't know. She didn't even know if she liked girls. 

"I-I dont know. I really don't know. Is it bad that I dont know?"

"No, no, no, of course it's not. There's nothing wrong with not knowing the answer to something." 

Handong had quickly comforted her. Both Handong and Bora then hugged her.

"What if I do like her? Am I broken for that? Am i even supposed to feel this way?"

"If you like her then it's completely okay. We don't have control over our feelings, you're not broken for that." This time Bora comforted her.

Hearing this made Siyeon feel better. She was calmer now, but she was still questioning herself. Did she like Minji? She doesn't know. She was scared of knowing as well. She didn't know what to do. The only she could do was just watch what'll unfold in the future.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Siyeon spoke again.

"Guys? Are you busy later?"

"I'm not, I don't know about Handong though."

"I'm not busy, why?"

"Do you guys want to come to the bakery with me today? I want to go there again soon."

Handong and Bora thought about it a while. They were scared of getting caught. But then again, Siyeon was with them. Because of that, both agreed.

"Sure, I'll come with you." Said Bora.

"I'll come with you too."

With that, the three of them got ready for their adventure and sneaked out the castle after making sure everything and everyone was okay.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When they arrived, they saw that the bakery was crowded again. As soon as they entered, Siyeon asked them what they wanted to order and they gave their answer. Bora and Handong looked for an empty table while Siyeon ordered.

Finally, Siyeon was at the front of the line. The lady in the counter recognized her and took her order. When she wanted to pay, she heard a familiar name getting called. She perked up her head to see a familiar face, Minji.

Both of them exchanged a glance and smiled at each other. Siyeon couldn't help but feel like flowers were blooming in her chest, a familiar warm feeling taking over. She couldn't help but look down and blush.

She quickly paid and saw a glimpse of Minji asking the lady behind the counter something. She then looked for her friends only to find them already looking back at her while sending looks.

She sat next to Bora while Handong was sitting in front of Bora. Siyeon already knew they saw what happened to her in the counter. She just stayed silent as Bora and Handong laughed together.

Siyeon decided to ignore the two for a couple of minutes, until suddenly a girl appeared with tray in hand. It was Minji again, Siyeon immediately smiled and removed the sulky expression that she had earlier.

Siyeon then placed their orders and wanted to leave but before she could, Siyeon spoke.

"You're leaving?"

"Huh?"

"You're not gonna sit down with me?"

Bora and Handong was shocked with Siyeon's words. She never does this.

"Oh, um...well your friends are here so..."

Bora quickly spoke after sharing a quick glance with Handong, agreeing with something.

"It's fine! You can sit down with us!"

"Yeah, don't worry it's fine!"

Minji was contemplating her decision but she wanted to spend more time with Siyeon. So she agreed, she did ask her mom to let her go for a while.

"Okay, if it's fine with you guys. I just need to return this tray for a second then I'll come back."

As soon as Minji left, Bora said something.

"You weren't lying to us when you said she was beautiful."

"Of course, why would I lie?"

Minji came back and sat on the seat across Siyeon since it was the only one that was available.

"I'm Handong, what's your name?"

"Minji, what about you?" Minji asked Bora.

"Bora, nice meeting you."

"It's nice to meet both of you as well."

Bora decided she would tease Siyeon a bit by exposing a little bit of her.

"Siyeon said that you were beautiful, I can tell why." Said Bora with a smirk.

Siyeon lightly hit Bora's side with her shoulder while trying to hide the brush that was making it's way to Siyeon's cheeks.

"She did? Ah, well, thank you for the compliment." Minji said while smiling.

"Siyeon did say a few things about you." Handing said with a smirk.

Now Minji was also blushing, she couldn't believe that Siyeon talked about her to her friends. Just hopefully nothing bad, she thought.

Bora had caught Minji's blush that was there just enough so that it was noticeable. She nudged Siyeon a bit so that she would look up, thankfully she did. Siyeon then also caught the blush that was on Minji's face. She was surprised, she only brushed even more.

Minji was looking at Siyeon when she blushed but now Siyeon was staring back at her. She saw Siyeon had a blush as well, her heart suddenly beats a faster pace. Both then smiling at each other.

Bora then faked a cough to get their attention while Handong was eating her food as she watched the scene unfold in front of her face. She felt like a drama was happening right then and there.

"Anyways, do you work here Minji?" Bora asked.

It took Minji a moment to process that in her brain to answer her.

"Huh? O-oh, this bakery is actually owned by my family. I like to help around since I want to become a Baker as well."

"Then, did you make this?" Handong chimed in.

"Yes and no, I did take part in making it but i had to serve the customers so my mother did most of the work."

"I just want to say this really is delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it." 

Minji had given Handong her signature smile. Siyeon who saw it, smiled as well. Her heart did backflips while watching her.

The four of them chatted and gotten to know each other. Bora and Handong already prepared a lie for their childhood incase Minji asked, Siyeon has told them so, so they wouldn't get their identities discovered so soon.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon, Handong, and Bora soon had to leave. They spent a good time together with Minji, they get Why Siyeon liked talking to her. Or maybe why Siyeon likes her.

As soon as they stepped out of the bakery, they went to sneak back in the castle and changed clothing. They took turns in the shower to get rid of suspicious scents and hid everything that was related to the town. 

When the three of them already showered, out of nowhere Siyeon spoke.

"I think I like her."

"Minji?" Bora asked.

"Yes."

"In what way?" Handong said

"In a more than friends way." Siyeon stated.

They all fall silent. No one knew what to say. It wasn't anything bad, they just, didn't know what to say. Siyeon was getting anxious.

"D-Do you guys...feel uncomfortable around me?"

Bora and Handong was shocked both answer quickly with no's and such.

"Why would you think like that?! We would never feel like that to you!" Handong said.

"Siyeon, don't think we're uncomfortable around you or hate you just because of your feelings."

"I'm sorry..." Siyeon said.

Handong And Bora hugged Siyeon tightly, like she was going to disappear if they let go.

"Don't say sorry, it's not your fault. It's no one's."

They became silent for a while, while still hugging each other. Siyeon was the first to break the silence. 

"Can you guys stay the night here? Please?"

Bora and Handong couldn't refuse her. So they agreed, they just needed to tell their parents about it first.

"Okay, we'll stay." Handong said.

Bora hummed in agreement and nodded her head.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They had let their parents know about the sleepover and thankfully they allowed them. The three of them got ready for bed and cuddled each other.

Bora and Handong was on either side of Siyeon, with Handong having Siyeon's back facing her front, while Bora was facing Siyeon. The three of them felt comfortable in each other's presence and soon enough, they all fell asleep.


	4. Friends

Minji woke up the next day with her mother telling her to take the day off of the bakery. At first, Minji hesitated to accept it. But, she did anyways, she missed hanging out with her friends. She didn't have the time to do so since she helped with moving out the things from the bakery and with how packed the bakery was.

Minji's friends were Yubin, Gahyeon, and Yoohyeon. They met because of Minji and Yubin's ability to easily make friends, even when they were only little. And also Minji's mother that was friends with a couple of their mothers. They met when Minji was only 9 years old, when her mother wanted to meet up with her friends.

One of her mother's friend had suggested to bring their child along since their husband was working and they couldn't leave their kids behind. Hearing that they all agreed. Minji didn't mind the idea, she liked meeting new people. She didn't mind making new friends.

Yubin and Yoohyeon were only 6 at that time, but they had already known each other ever since they were still wearing diapers. Their mothers were friends with each other since a very long time, before they were even born. 

Gahyeon was the youngest out of the four of them, being only 4 years old. She was afraid of being there, since the others were older than her. Especially Minji who was already 5 years older than her. She was intimidated.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They set up the meeting up at a park, they decided to have a picnic together. When Minji and her mother arrived, Yubin and Yoohyeon's mothers were already there while Gahyeon and her mother hadn't arrived yet.

They quickly get settled in and waited for Gahyeon and her mother. Soon enough, Gahyeon and her mother arrived. Gahyeon hid behind her mother with her hand being held, Minji thought that Gahyeon was cute. But Gahyeon looked scared.

When all of them was already present, they prepared the food and such and started to eat while talking to each other. At first, it was awkward between the kids, and Minji felt like she had to break the ice between them.

Thankfully, they all took it well. They started to introduce each other, talked about the things they liked, joked together, and others. The longer they talked, the more they felt comfortable now. Gahyeon wasn't as scared anymore and found them nice to be talking to. The four of them talked for a long time.

The four of them agreed to keep in touch with each other, to sometimes play together or visit one's house. Hearing this, their mothers were happy that the four of them got along with each other.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Surprisingly, her mother told her that she already set up a meeting for her and her friends. She had ask her friends to let their daughters come play together again, they all agreed.

She told them to meet at the park they first met, so when Minji got there, Gahyon was sitting with her back on a large tree, possibly waiting for the others to arrive. Minj thought she still looked as cute as when she was a literal baby.

Minji then approached her and Gahyeon noticed, her face lighting up when she saw Minji. She got up and ran up to Minji and hugged her. She felt a bit lonely while waiting for the others and she was only 11 years old, so bring alone still scared her a bit.

Just then, Yubin and Yoohyeon arrived together. They loved near each other so they probably went to the park together. They then sat at the tree Gahyeon was sitting at to avoid the sun. Minji was the one that started their conversation.

"How've you guys been doing?"

"I've been doing good," said Yubin.

"Me too," Gahyeon replied.

"Same here," Yoohyeon followed.

Minji had a story to tell but she saw that Yubin looked like she had one as well. So she let her talk before her.

"I think I already know what I want to become when I grow up."

"What is it?" Gahyeon said.

"I want to become a knight at the royal kingdom, I asked my mother and father about this, at first they hesitated but they agreed in the end."

"So you're training now?" Minji asked.

"Actually...I'm going to try and apply for it next month, so yes I am."

"If you pass, then will you move in to the castle?" Asked Gahyeon.

"Yes and no. If I pass then I'll move places to stay near the castle, not exactly in it."

"So you've been practicing for a while now?" Minji asked.

"Yeah, I have."

"I hope you pass it then," Minji said.

Gahyeon and Yoohyeon soon followed after Minji, supporting Yubin. They felt sad if Yubin leaves, but they still encouraged her on. They continued chatting about a few things that happened to Yoohyeon and Gahyeon, then they asked Minji.

"What about you, Minji? Did anything interesting happen recently?" Gahyeon asked.

"Well...yes actually."

"What is it? What is it? What is it?" Gahyeon excitedly replied.

"There was a girl that came into the bakery, she looked...surprised? I still don't really know. But, I talked to her and she was really nice actually. Yesterday, she visited again and we talked again with her friends also."

"What do you mean she looked surprised?" Yoohyeon asked.

"Like I said, I don't really know. It was like she was shocked."

"Shocked by how beautiful you are?" Yubin then joked.

Minji's eyes then went wide. Was that really the reason? Her friends did say Siyeon said she was beautiful, but she didn't want to get ahead of herself. Her friends noticed her silence and spoke up.

"Minji? Are you there? Are you okay?" Yoohyeon said first.

"What? Huh? Yeah, I'm here,"

"You okay?" Yubin asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just, what you said might be true."

"That she was shocked by how beautiful you were?" Yubin replied.

"Yes, I don't want to boast or anything. It's just that, her friends did say something about her calling me beautiful. And that she talked about me to them."

"Does she have a crush on you?" Gahyeon asked.

"Uh...I don't know..?"

They all became silent for a moment until Yoohyeon said something.

"Do you like her? 

Minji had to think about that for a second, she thinks she does. Since every little thing that Siyeon does makes her heart flutter and brings up a warm feeling in her chest.

"I think so."

They all become silent again, Gahyeon was still very young and very confused, so she asked something.

"Girls can like girls?"

The older three looked at each other and said nothing, she was a child. They didn't know what to say. Yubin then spoke up.

"Well...we can love whoever we want, we can't control our feelings."

Gahyeon just nodded her head while listening to Yubin. Yoohyeon suddenly spoke up.

"What's her name?"

"Siyeon."

"Like the princess?" Yubin asked.

"Yes."

"Can we visit your bakery tomorrow?" Yubin said.

"Uh...sure, why?"

"Because we've never been there before."

"Oh, okay then. Feel free to visit whenever!" Minji said with her signature smile.

After them talking for a while, Gahyeon said she had to go home since it was already afternoon. They all dropped Gahyeon off at her house, then dropped Minji off. Yubin and Yoohyeon went together since their homes were close with each other.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Minji decided to take a stroll around the town since there was no one in her house, her parents were working in the bakery. She also didn't want to stay at home and so nothing yet, so she decided to go for a walk.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Minji was walking around the center of the town when she saw a familiar figure, Siyeon. She saw a bit of her side profile and she recognized her body posture. She had a hood on which was weird for Minji, she looked like she was trying to hide.

Minji didn't know why but she decided to follow her, her curiosity taking over her. She had to go through crowds of people, but she could keep track of where Siyeon was going. 

Suddenly, Siyeon took a sharp turn. This made Minji quicken her pace since she was a bit far from Siyeon. When she arrived at the corner where Siyeon turned, she was nowhere to be seen. Minji was confused, she tried to look for her, but to no avail, she lost her. She disappeared.

This made Minji give up and tried to go back, until she noticed, she accidentally entered the bad side of the town. The sun was setting, she was getting scared. She had no one with her, she could only pray nothing bad would happen to her.

Out of nowhere, she heard a man screaming. Like he was angry and drunk. Hearing this, Minji only became even scared. The man she heard screamed was going towards her, she tried to hide in an alley way but the man already noticed her.

"HEY! You, get over here girl!"

Minji was frozen, she was scared. She had no other choice but to stay there, she knew if she tried to escape it wouldn't end nice for her. 

The man was now walking faster towards her. She was terrified, she was on the verge of tears. She wanted to scream but she couldn't as well, she didn't want to get hurt. She prayed the entire time the man took a closer step. Seconds felt like hours for her, she held her breath the entire moment.

Minji saw in the corner of her eyes, a hooded figure. She silently wished that the figure knew what was going on and would help her. That the figure was someone trustworthy not someone like the drunk man.

The figure then stepped out of the alley way and Minji could make out her face in the dark, her heart was relieved immediately when she saw who it was. But, she was scared as well. The man had a big body, he looked stronger. She just hoped it would end well in the end.


	5. A Little Fight

Siyeon was on her way back home, she went to the bakery today but Minji's mother said that Minji went out with some of her friends as a day off. Hearing this, Siyeon ordered a drink and thanked Minji's mother for telling her. It was like she knew Siyeon was there just to see Minji.

After finishing her drink, she had nothing else to do. So she decided to go back to the castle and maybe hang out with Bora or Handong or both. She left with her usual route already planned. It was a bit dangerous, but she got used to it.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

During her way back, she felt like she was being followed. She faked herself to make it look like she was looking for something to catch a glimpse of what was behind her. To her surprise, it was Minji. Seeing her made her quicken her pace.

She kept discreetly checking behind her to see of Minji was following her, she was. Siyeon kept on walking, hoping she could lose her. She kept on her usual route not knowing it was dangerous for Minji. She finally lost her when she hid in a small alley way, she saw Minji pass by.

She waited for a while until she suddenly heard a man scream, he sounded drunk. This could get dangerous, that is the last thing Siyeon wants. She saw Minji stopping next to the alley. She could see how she was trembling in fear. Siyeon wanted to help her, and she will.

She heard the stomps of the man getting closer, Minji was still frozen. Minji looked like she was on the verge of tears. Siyeon's heart felt like it was clenched. But then, she relized that Minji actually noticed her, maybe even recognized her. 

She couldn't wait anymore, she stepped out of the alley and immediately put Minji behind her. She wanted to protect her no matter what. She didn't care if guards from the castle noticed she wasn't there. She didn't care if it was getting late. She only cared about Minji.

The man then stopped when he noticed Siyeon was in front of Minji. He told them to give them their money or else something bad was going to happen to them. But there was no way in hell Siyeon was going to let this man harrass them and get away with it. 

Minji had a different thought than Siyeon though, she didn't want the both of them hurt. Especially, if Siyeon was hurt because of her. She wanted to tell Siyeon they should just give up any gold they had with them, but the look on Siyeon's face was scary. She's never seen her like this. If looks could kill, then the man would he dead already.

The man noticed the growing silence that was surrounding the place, he couldn't wait anymore. His patience wasn't there anymore, him being drunk didn't help the situation. He got angrier and got closer to Siyeon.

Siyeon quickly told Minji to get back, Minji didn't want to but listened. She believed that Siyeon had a plan in her mind, so she trusted her. Siyeon raised her fist up, ready to fight. Minji was scared, Siyeon was going to fight that man.

The man was now in Siyeon's range, he tried to throw his fist towards her. But her being skilled in martial arts, dodged it easily. The man was also intoxicated, that made it easier for Siyeon to punch his sides with her right hand.

The man was shocked with how strong the punch was, but he didn't back down. He just grew angrier, he tried to punch Siyeon again with his right fist. Siyeon was quicker and dodged him again, letting her knee come in contact with his stomach, harshly.

The man then got to his knees, pain taking over. Siyeon didn't want to fight anymore, time was running out. The sun was setting. Seeing how the man was in pain and not paying attention, she took Minji by hand and ran to the direction of the bakery.

Both of them never let go of each other the entire time they were running. It was like they were afraid if they let go, the other would disappear.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

As soon as they arrived, Minji hugged Siyeon tightly. Siyeon returned the hug just as tight as Minji. Out of nowhere, Minji cried. Siyeon could feel tears staining her clothing. Siyeon didn't what to do, so she just kept her cry and told her it was okay, everything was okay.

The both of them then let go of each other, Minji then spoke.

"What were you thinking?!"

Siyeon was shocked and scared, Minji was mad at her. She stayed silent to let Minji continue.

"I was so scared you would get hurt back then!"

"I'm sorry..."

Minji hugged Siyeon again.

"Idiot. Don't say sorry, if it weren't for you I wouldn't even be here."

The both of them let go of the hug once again. Siyeon's time was running up, she had to get to the castle. But she felt bad, Minji was here, crying, because of her. That pained her the most.

"It's getting dark, it won't be safe to walk around alone. Especially, if you took the same route. You can come home with me if you want to."

Siyeon wanted to accept so badly, she's never wanted to accept something so badly in her life. But, she knew she couldn't. She was princess.

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"Oh."

"I want to accept that offer but I can't. I can't say why."

"It's okay! It must be important, I'll let you leave now."

Siyeon was just about to turn her heel when suddenly, her hand was grabbed. It was Minji that stopped her, Minji looked like she hesitated to do something but Siyeon didn't question.

Then, Minji had taken a step closer. Closer to Siyeon's face. Siyeon's eyes grew wide, while Minji closed her's. Siyeon stood there frozen, Minji was now only a centimeter away from Minji's face. She felt a pair of soft lips touch her right cheek. Minji kissed her cheek.

Siyeon's face heated up, it felt like it was on fire. Her heart was trying to get out of her chest. She just stood there, eyes still wide, getting hypnotized by Minji once again. She was in a trance.

Minji had noticed her silence, she thought she made a mistake. Siyeon was frozen in her spot, Minji panicked. She asked if she was okay and she replied, but just a bit late.

Then Minji saw how Siyeon had a shy smile on her face and then she looked down. Seeing her like this made Minji's heart relaxed, turns out she didn't make a mistake. A shy smile also appeared on Minji's face. Both turning shy.

When Minji looked up, she saw that Siyeon was looking at her now. Then something unexpected happened, Siyeon returned the favor by also kissing Minji's left cheek. This caught Minji off guard and made her head spin.

When Minji still haven't recovered from Siyeon's sudden cheek kiss, Siyeon said a tiny 'goodbye' only for Minji to hear and shot her a wink. Then walking away. Minji just watched her as she walked away, still in the same position. She then went into the bakery since staying in the same position wasn't a good idea.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon had barely made it, as soon as she reached her room, she hid everything, took a shower, and changed at the perfect time. Because soon after, a guard was knocking at her door, telling her dinner was ready.

She had to keep a poker face while she was having dinner, she couldn't let a smile out since she didn't want to be suspicious and have people notice her odd behavior. She barely smiles when she was alone in her thoughts.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

As soon as Siyeon reached her room, she let out the smile she's been hiding for a short but long time during dinner. She changed clothing and jump into her bed. She smiled as she touched her right cheek, the spot that Minji kissed. She couldn't forget how her lips felt, it was soft and she liked the feeling.

She blushed as the moment replayed in her head, it was the first time she felt like this. All because of one person in the whole universe, because of Minji. Siyeon then thought she needed sleep, today was an interesting day.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

As soon as Minji entered her family's bakery, her mother was there looking right at her with a sly smile. Minji became embarrassed because she knew the reason of her mother's smile. She saw what she and Siyeon did.

Minji's cheek started to redden again beacause of the amount of embarrassment she was holding in. She walked further into the bakery, she was trying to avoid her mother's teasing. Until, her mother whispered into her ear.

"Guess someone has a girlfriend now," she said with a mischievous tone.

Minji's eyes went wide as she heard this and playfully hit her mother with a pout that was visible in her face.

"I'm not dating," Minji said with a pout.

"Okay, if you say so," her mother still had the same mocking tone of voice.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After helping closing the bakery, Minji and her parents went home. When she got to her room, she remembered the kiss Siyeon gave to her cheek. She unconsciously touched the spot where Siyeon kissed her with her hand.

She felt her heartbeat fasten and a blush rising to her cheeks, she was smiling to herself. If someone else was in the room with her, they would've thought that she was crazy. She started to dance around her room because of her excitement.

After getting tired, she finally took a shower and got ready for bed. She was hoping to meet Siyeon again at the bakery, talking to her again, spending time with her. She laid herself on her bed and became tired. Soon enough, she fell asleep.


	6. Unexpected Meeting

Siyeon woke up with a knock on her door, she was still too sleepy to stand up and only wriggled on her bed. The knock on her door became harder, she got upset because of it. Becoming so curious and annoyed at who was knocking, she got up and opened the door only to get her face hit by a pair of small fist.

Her face was in a bit of pain and she was going to scream at whoever did that to her, however she stopped herself when she noticed it was Bora. That explained the tiny fist. Bora was standing there with Handong by her side, all her anger went away when she saw them. But, she still had a little bit of annoyance in her.

"Can we please come in?" Bora spoke first.

"Yeah, sure."

Once they went in, the three of them sat down on Siyeon's bed. Handong then asked Siyeon something.

"Do you have plans on sneaking out today?"

"Yes...why?"

"Well, we wanted to come with you again. It's boring in here, so we decided, why not come with you to town?" Handong replied.

Siyeon didn't mind them coming with her, but she didn't know if they wanted to come to the bakery again. That was Siyeon's plan anyway.

"Sure. But are you guys okay with me going to the bakery?"

"Of course! It's fine, we knew you would do that anyways. Is it okay if we come along though?" Bora said.

"Yeah, it's fine. No worries."

Bora and handing let Siyeon take a shower while the both of them were disguising themselves. As soon as the three of them were ready, the headed out to the town.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

The three of them soon arrived to the bakery, like their last time visiting, Siyeon ordered for them while Bora and Handong find an empty table for them. 

When she arrived at the counter, the lady who was Minji's mother served her in the counter. Siyeon ordered the same as the last time they came there, after recieving her order, Minji's mother prepared them. Then, Siyeon went back to her seat.

Siyeon had just walked to their seat when she saw that Minji was also sitting there, right next to an empty chair that she believes belongs to her. Handong and Bora just gave her a mischievous smirk, they knew what they were doing.

Siyeon sat down awkwardly next to Minji, she didn't forget what had happened yesterday. Both of them looked at each other and gave shy smiled to each other. The four of them didn't pay attention to the door opening and also the people coming in.

Suddenly there were three people tapping Minji's shoulder, Bora, Handong, and Siyeon didn't know who these people were. Siyeon's shoulder bacame tense, memories of what happened in the alley came back. But the people that were there were girls.

But all the worries from Siyeon disappeared when she saw that Minji's smile brightened when she saw those people. Siyeon just guessed that they were her friends, seeing how they greeted each other and hugged each other. 

A part of Siyeon became jealous actually. She saw how they hugged Minji tightly, and made Minji's facial expression became brighter even than when she was joking around with Siyeon. Not that Minji wasn't smiling or laughing brightly, she was. Siyeon was just jealous, that made her think her smile was different at that moment.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Minji said not in a bad way.

"I thought we agreed yesterday to come to your bakery?" Yubin answered.

Right. That was what Minji thought, she forgotten that they agreed to come visit her bakery. Minji mentally faced palmed herself.

"I completely forgot! I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay! At least we get to hang out with you right?" Gahyeon asked.

Minji wanted to hang out with them, but she wanted to hang out with Siyeon too and her friends of course. So she thought of an idea.

"Yeah, it's fine!"

Bora caught a glimpse of the sadness in Siyeon. She thought that Siyeon really must've cared for the girl.

"But, can we hang out with my other friends as well? It's nice to know new people right?" Minji explained.

Hearing this all of them turned to look at Minji. Yoohyeon was the first to reply.

"Sure! It's fine with me. What about you guys?" 

The rest replied with nods of their heads. Some feeling weird about the situation and some okay with it. After that, they dragged two tables together and sat down together. Minji's friend group in one side, and Siyeon's on the other.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Although they felt a bit awkward at first, the seven of them had gotten along better than none of them thought. It was a bit weird for Siyeon, Bora, and Handong to hang out with an eleven year old, but they've had worse people to handle.

They're actually quite fond of the youngest,they thought she was cute. They were also quite surprised by how well she blended in with them with her only being eleven.

"Was Siyeon the one you were talking about?" Yubin whispered into Minji's ear.

"How did you know?" Minji was surprised.

"I didn't, it was just a guess."

"You're quite the guesser."

"I know, thank you."

Both of them went quiet for a bit, watching the others talk among themselves. That was until Minji talked.

"So, anyone interesting?"

"What?"

"Anyone interesting for you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Yubin looked away.

Minji didn't fail to see the blush in Yubin's cheeks, she actually meant it as a joke. She didn't think Yubin was interested in one of them.

"Anyways, I was just kidding. You only met them today, it's barely possible for people to be interested in others that fast."

"Said the one who liked a girl in one day." Yubin said with a smirk.

Minji smacked Yubin's shoulder.

"Shut up." She said playfully.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After talking for a while, the seven of them decided to take a stroll. The wanted to just walk around the town for a bit after sitting for quite a while to make them feel like sitting is tiring.

Gahyeon wanted to go to the park, since she was the youngest and the others couldn't resist her, they went to the park to walk aroung or maybe just to lie down on the grass and such.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

As soon as she got there, Gahyeon ran around the grassfield with Bora and Yubin since she needed to have an eye kept on her. She could get really wild at times. And so did Bora, that's Why Yubin tagged along.

The rest of them were talking with each other again, trying to learn more about the other person. Yoohyeon learned that Handong was a foreigner and asked if she could learn her mother tongue together, Handong agreed. Handong was now teaching her a few words and sentences.

While the rest of them were busy with each other, Siyeon and Minji took this chance to talk again with each other. The both of them laid down under a nearby tree to get away from the sunlight.

"Is Gahyeon always that energetic?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how much energy she has in that tiny body."

They both chuckle at Minji's response.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

10 minutes passed, the two of them were still talking with each other and the others were still playing together. Yubin had played with Gahyeon and Bora now, while Yoohyeon and Handong were talking about something else and not studying another language anymore.

As time passed the distance between Minji's and Siyeon's body grew lesser, they had unconsciously moved closer to each other while they were talking.

"This was really unexpected. Our friends meeting so quickly." Siyeon said.

"Yeah, I didn't expect it. But I'm glad though, they seem to get along well with each other."

"I agree, I think they get along as well as we do."

"You think we get along well?" Minji was facing Siyeon now. She had a playful expression on her face.

"Don't we?" Siyeon faced Minji. Siyeon copied the expression Minji made.

As they looked at each other, they noticed the close proximity between them. It was unbearable and both parties couldn't help but stare at each others lips as silence took over. But, none of them moved. They were scared to.

It was all too fast, their friendship was going too fast. Their crush on each other, them kissing each other's cheeks, it was all too fast for the both of them. And they didn't know what to do. They wanted to stop and keep going all at the same time.

Both were silent for a while, until Gahyeon screamed at Minji telling her to help her because Bora was chasing her around. Both silently thanked Gahyeon for the interruption to break the silence. As Gahyeon came running to Minji, Siyeon stood up since she didn't want to be hit.

Sooner later, Minji stood up as well. And Gahyeon hugged Minji and hid behind her. Bora came in running too but towards Siyeon, and that knocked her down again. Both were pain since Bora was running fast.

Siyeon pushed Bora off and got up herself, then helping Bora. She threw a playful glare at her and Bora made herself fake a reaction. Their friends laughed because of their antics. 

Yoohyeon and Handong went up to check on them to see if they were okay. Since Siyeon's and Bora's grunt of pain were a bit loud that it was able to catch their attention.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After playing around a bit more, Siyeon, Handong, and Bora had to go back to the castle. They went and said their goodbye's and told each other they should hang out more often.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They reached Siyeon's room and did the same routine they would do after sneaking out. After doing those, Siyeon laid down on her bed and just think about things. Mostly, a particular moment today with Minji.

She really didn't know what to do, she wanted to keep this going but she also wanted to take a break and stop everything for a moment. She's never been in this position before, being in love. She's never felt it before, Minji is her first love.

She inhaled and exhaled loudly. Loud enough to get the attention of Handong who was waiting for Bora to finish her shower.

"Something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Just something that happened today."

"Minji?"

"Yeah."

Handong walked to Siyeon's bed and sat next to her.

"Wanna tell me about it?"

"Maybe..."

"Do you want me to listen or to give you advice?"

"Can you please just listen?" Siyeon didn't mean it in a bad way.

"Of course."

"Well...Minji kissed my cheek yesterday, and I kissed her's as well."

Hearing this made Handong surprised. But, she kept her word and let Siyeon keep talking.

"And today, at the park, we were lying down next to each other. And we unknowingly kept moving closer to each other. Suddenly, we both looked at each other and we didn't have any personal space left. We almost kissed, but didn't. We kept looking at each other's lips but never did anything. We just stayed silent. Gahyeon was the one who broke it for us."

Throughout the entire time Siyeon was talking, Handong stayed silent and only nodded her head. Then, Bora came into the room and told Handong to shower. Handong gave Siyeon a smile before leaving.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Minji was in her room, she kept on thinking on what happened today with Siyeon. She couldn't get rid of the image of Siyeon's face being so close with her's, she couldn't get rid of the fact that she saw Siyeon's gaze flicking from her eyes to her lips. She couldn't get rid of Siyeon from her mind, no matter how hard she tried.

She groaned, she too thought that they were going too fast. They had only known each other for a couple of days, yet they feel like they've known each other for a long time. Minji had to admit it, she was in love with Siyeon. No one had made her like this.

She tried to shake off this feeling but she couldn't, she liked having this feeling but she also didn't like it. It was wonderful yet it could be so harmful to whoever had it.

She took a shower to take her mind off it a bit, and it did. Only for a while though. She decided to sleep through it that night, she didn't want to think of the many possibilities that could come out of this situation. She didn't want to be sad or hurt. Soon enough, she fell asleep and entered her dreamland.


	7. Releasing Stress

This was weird, Siyeon didn't want sneak out. She actually wanted to just stay in the castle, mostly in her room. Bora and Handong stayed the night in Siyeon's room since Handong suggested it. And Bora and Siyeon just went with it.

She had just woken up in the morning, finding herself sandwiched between Handong and Bora. Bora was in front of Siyeon while Handong was behind her, her front was pressed against Siyeon's back. 

She tried to silently pry off the arms that were wrapped around her, succeeding in the end. She went to the balcony that was a part of her room, she closed her eyes and breathed in, taking the morning air. Feeling how the sun rose, the warm feeling covering the bit of her skin that was exposed.

She loved that, she loved that nothing could bother her in this moment. She was alone with her thoughts, though it being barely there. She didn't think of anything, her mind was just there. She didn't want to let any concern take over this moment.

She stayed there for a good amount of time. Enough for Bora to wake up and notice that Siyeon was missing, she started to look for her as she got up from the bed. Then, she saw her, standing in the balcony. She decided to approach her and gave her a back hug, despite being the shorter one.

"Good morning," Bora greeted.

"Good morning."

"Something on your mind?"

Siyeon couldn't lie, Bora knew her like an open book. They've spent their childhood together, if Bora didn't know, that would be unordinary.

"Yeah," Siyeon said followed by a soft sigh.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know. I don't even know if I want to talk about it to myself."

"Then don't. If you feel uncomfortable about it, don't talk about it. That's my opinion."

Siyeon turned around and hugged Bora back, she was thankfull for her. 

"Thank you."

"You know it's nothing."

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Minji woke up, she got up earlier than usual. But still, she took a shower, changed clothes and just went around the town for a bit. It was still really early so she thought she could take a morning walk. 

It was a bit cold for her but, that didn't matter much for her. She just kept on walking idly, not thinking about anything. Before remembering about her families bakery, then she went home again and waited for her parents to wake up and go to the bakery together.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Helping around the bakery was helping her a lot more than she thought it would. She kept on serving customers, only taking 5 minutes breaks from time to time. She had even forgotten about the situation she was in.

She was tired, definitely. But she was better of like this, that was what she thought. Her friends even came visited, she talked with them for a while then went back to working to help her parents and their workers.

Suddenly, something came up in her mind. Her friends had visited, yes, she was happy with that. But Siyeon didn't. The last time she was spending time with her friends and not at the bakery, her mother told her Siyeon visited. But she didn't make an appearance that day, it was her usual time to come.

She didn't know if she was sad or relieved for that to happen. She didn't know if Siyeon was feeling the same as her, if she thinks they were going too fast for the both of them to handle. Those moments came back to her head, she told her mother she wanted to take a break for a bit, and she let her.

Minji didn't even know how she felt about that incident, she didn't know if she liked the feeling of Siyeon being so close to her, so close that she could feel her breath. Or if she didn't like it, their personal space suddenly gone.

She ruffled her hair, trying to shake off the thoughts and trying to shake off the image of Siyeon's face again. Not now, she thought, she didn't want to handle it right now. Not when she was in a public space and people could walk in on her.

Then, she made a decision. She told her mother she was too tired to work now and told her that she was going home or somewhere else to relax for a bit, and her mother let her. Her mother was a kind women, maybe too kind. Maybe one of the reasons of Minji's kind trait.

No matter how much people hurt her, she could never hate them. She refused to, hating them would make her the same as the people who hurt her. Maybe that's why she didn't want to push Siyeon away.

Siyeon felt like an addiction, she kept wanting her. She would do anything for her, even though they haven't known each other even for a week. She let out a loud sigh, and she realized that she was at her house already. Did she space out for that long?

She went in and immediately went to her room, throwing herself into her bed. Then getting into another position that was more comfortable for her. Finally, relaxing. Until she hear a knock.

She groaned loudly and got up to go to the front door. Opening it, only to see her friends standing there with smiles on their face, her frown disappearing.

"What are you guys doing here?" Minji asked as she was surprised.

"Well, we wanted to visit. It's been a while since we came over to play at your house!" An excited Gahyeon answering.

"Come in then, Make yourselves at home." 

The four of them then stepped into Minji's room and all of them except Minji jumped onto her bed. Minji only smiled at her friends, she was glad to have them at her side.

"What are you waiting for? Join us!" Yubin beamed.

Minji them joined them and laid next to each other. Minji being the one in the far right of her side, Yoohyeon next to her on her left, then Gahyeon, and Yubin on the far left side of the bed.

The four of them kept talking to each other, playing around despite the small space of Minji's bed. They then changed positions into a sitting one since both Minji and Yubin almost fell of the bed a couple of times.

They stayed there for a while, not realizing the time that was passing by like a flash of light. But eventually, the others had to go home as it was nearing the time for the sun to set. 

With that, they all left Minji's house and went to their own. Minji went back to her room and laid down on her bed again, smile still resting on her face because of her friends.

She was glad they came by. Or else she would've been sulking up in her room by herself. She was back to herself again, she was happy.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon had another way of relieving her emotions, instead of doing something that other princesses would do, she went to the place where she practiced martial arts and relieved her stress there.

She went all out that day, there were her training opponents she had to fight to see if she improved or not. As she fought them, they can definitely agree that she improved. She beat everybody that she had to fight.

Recently, Siyeon also learned how to use the sword. When she was given a long baton that acted like it was her sword, she immediately practiced it. Hitting the targets that was there.

She hits the targets really hard because of her feelings, so hard that it broke her stick. Her teacher was surprised by her strength and also impressed. Her teacher thought that Siyeon was one of the best student they've ever had.

When everybody already left, Siyeon said that she would stay there for a little bit more then she would leave. Her teacher had a confused look on their face but didn't question her. Siyeon's plan was to actually spend most of her time there, deciding she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

She kept on fighting the dummies that were there and worked out as well since she thought why not? She felt her whole body on fire, she felt like she was pushing her limits. But that didn't matter for her at that moment.

She just thought her pushing her limits would only make her get better, stronger. Her whole body was drenched in sweat, she could feel her clothes sticking to her body. Still, she didn't even bother those things and only took breaks to drink water for a few minutes.

She kept doing that for a surprising 4 hours, from the beginning of her lesson to now, until Bora came. Bora walked in on the sight of Siyeon punching one of the dummies, eyes glaring at it like it killed someone she loved. She didn't even notice Bora coming in until Bora spoke for a few times.

"Siyeon?" Siyeon still hasn't noticed her.

"Siyeon..? Are you okay?"

Still nothing, just sounds of her punching and kicking the dummy.

"Siyeon!" Bora screamed at a louder voice.

"Huh?"

Finally Siyeon noticed Bora standing there, in front of the door.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. Why are you in here? You don't have practice today and I know you'd usually like being in your room instead of working out till' your bones break."

It was true, Siyeon only looked down on the floor and ignored Bora's gaze. Today, she just suddenly wanted to keep on practicing and working out without a stop. 

"I'm sorry. Just a bit stressed is all," Siyeon spoke.

Bora then walked over to Siyeon while speaking.

"No, don't say sorry. It's not wrong for you to release stress, if this is the way you want to do it, it's fine. Just, don't overwork yourself please." 

"I'll try not to Bora."

"Do you want to come with me? To the garden, just to walk around," Bora said with a small smile.

Siyeon contemplated that invitation for a while, she thought which one would be better. Breaking herself in the practice room or walking around the garden with Bora. She immediately agreed to Bora's idea with that thought.

"Sure, I think it'll be nice."

"Great! Let's just get you showered and changed."

"I think I'll shower but I'm not getting into a dress, I'll just pull something out from my closet that I like."

With that, the both of them exited Siyeon's practice room and let Siyeon take a shower.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon had actually thought of something, she didn't want to wear a dress. So, she wore something much different. A clothing that princes would usually wear, one she requested secretly to the castle's tailor. Not even Bora or Handong knows about it, just her and the tailor she trusted.

She quickly tried to find it at the spot where she hid it in a box, deep in side her closet. She took the box in her hand and wore the outfit she wanted to wear for a while.

It was an outfit that would usually be used for princes but she didn't care about it one bit, in fact, she felt a lot more comfortable wearing the outfit than a dress. It mostly contained the color black with a few gold accents on few sides of the outfit.

When she walked out of her room to a Bora that was waiting in front of her door, a gap was given to her. Bora was impressed at how well Siyeon looked with her outfit.

"Is it okay?"

"Are you kidding me? Siyeon you look absolutely amazing!"

"That's good to hear then, shall we?" 

Siyeon and Bora linked their arms together and started walking together. 

"You seriously look like a prince right now. Maybe you're even better looking than other princes."

"Thank you," Siyeon had a blush on her face now.

"You're welcome."

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Bora and Siyeon headed to the garden while earning a few looks from a few people that they passed by. Both knew that it was because of Siyeon's outfit choice. Siyeon started to get uncomfortable because of it, she started getting insecure.

"Siyeon? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that this is new to me, the looks people are giving me."

"Don't think about it Siyeon, they're just looking at you because you look absolutely stunning."

"You really think so?"

"Did you not hear my gasp before? I barely find anyone interesting around here, it's rare for me to do that and you know that."

Siyeon once again smiled because of Bora's comment.

"Thank you again Bora."

"Like I always say, it's nothing!"

~~~~~|||~~~~~

The both of them arrived at the garden. It's been a while since Siyeon was here to take a walk. They kept walking together with a comfortable silence between them.

After a while, the both of them got tired and decided to sit down at a bench. The sun was setting already and both were looking at it, taking in the scenery. Bora was leaning onto Siyeon's shoulder and Siyeon tilted her head to rest on Bora's.

The both of them stayed there until the sun disappeared. After that, they went to Siyeon's room. Bora was probably going to stay over again and Siyeon wouldn't even mind it one bit.

Bora and Siyeon didn't change their clothing yet since dinner was coming up. They decided to want to surprise the people that was coming.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

The time for dinner came, Siyeon and Bora went to the dining room to come join the people that were there and were going to be there. The first reaction that Siyeon saw was from her parents. They looked shocked at first then let their facial muscles turn into small smiles.

"Siyeon, where did you buy that from?" Her mother asked nicely.

"I might have secretly asked one of the castle's tailor to make it for me."

"I just want to say it looks good on you Siyeon," Siyeon's father joining the conversation.

"I agree," her mother spoke.

"Thank you, father, mother."

"You can wear more of those if you want," her father suddenly said.

Hearing this, Siyeon's eyes went wide. 

"Really father? Do you really mean it?"

"Of course, you look handsome with it. Trust me, I've seen a few princes that looked not so good as you do."

"Thank you father. But mother, is it okay with you?"

"Of course it is! You're just expressing yourself, there's nothing wrong with it."

Siyeon was smiling, she never thought her parents would agree with her dressing like this. She then took her usual seat and waited for their food to be presented.

There were only a few families there since Siyeon's family was the one who ruled the kingdom, Bora's and Handong's were there since their fathers were one of the king's advisor and that Bora and Handong were Siyeon's best friends. The rest were a few important people there as well.

Most people agreed that Siyeon looked charming in the outfit, but there were some that were giving her dirty looks secretly. She just pretended she didn't see them.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After dinner ended, Bora's plan to sleep over in Siyeon's room was canceled. So, Siyeon went to her room alone and changed outfits into her sleeping ones.

Sooner and later, she quickly fell asleep after her tiredness from practicing martial arts and other activities got to her. She was knocked out immediately.


	8. Secrets

Siyeon woke up in the morning surprisingly good, at least it was better than yesterday. But then the feeling of being confused hit her, there was a large box in front of her bed sitting there.

Due to her curiosity, Siyeon got up and took a look at what the box was and wanted to check what was inside it. The box was more long than wide, maybe as tall as a normal coffin but looked like a rectangle. The box had a letter on top of it, Siyeon opened the letter first.

To my daughter Lee Siyeon,

You might be wondering why this box was in your room when you wake up and not before you went to sleep. Well, we have an explanation for that.

Yesterday's dinner was interesting, the outfit you wore suited you nicely and dare we say, we allow you to wear it more often. That's why this box is here, it's filled with a few clothes that were similar with your style from last night.

Me and your mother hope to see you again wearing these clothing that we sent you. You seemed very happy when we said it fitted you well, and of course, your happiness is ours as well.

Sincerely,  
Your father and mother.

After reading the letter her father and mother sent her, she quickly opened the box with a shocked expression. And what they said were true. It was filled of clothing for princes.

Siyeon smiled looking at this, she was happy her parents didn't mind her wearing such clothing. To her, that meant that she was one step closer to being herself in front of people. She then asked a guard to call Bora and Handong to tell them the good news. She took a shower while waiting for them.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Minji woke up in the morning feeling refreshed. Nothing particularly weird or special happened to her that morning, so she just took a nice shower and went to the bakery with her parents.

They opened up their bakery and prepared the materials to make their food and drinks. After that, they baked a few things in advanced to that things wouldn't be that messy later on.

She didn't really expect anything unexpected that day, all the customers they had were nice, some were familiar faces and some were new. But still, the results they got were good.

She kept on working and serving customers for a while, until a specific person caught her eye. It was Siyeon, she didn't know she was coming today since she didn't come yesterday.

Minji was working at the counter and Siyeon went up to her, smile appearing on her face when they locked eyes with each other. They missed each other, even though they were only apart for two days.

"Hi, nice to see you again," Siyeon greeted.

"Me too."

They both stayed silent for a couple of seconds, then realized they were still at the counter.

"Uh, so what would you like to order?"

"The usual."

"Alright, you can take a seat after you pay."

With that, Siyeon paid and left to find herself a seat. She waited her order while looking around aimlessly at the bakery, the people that were in it. And then suddenly, the bell rang and someone came in.

The person looked a bit familiar to Siyeon, she doesn't know from where but she felt like she's interacted with him. Not from the castle she thought, depending from his clothes he looked a bit rough.

Then Minji approached Siyeon and gave her order. She also asked if Minji recognized the person that walked in her bakery.

"Minji, do you recognize that person?" While subtly pointing at him with her eyes.

Minji turned her head to take a look at the man and her eyes widened when she saw him. She quickly took Siyeon's hand and left the bakery, going somewhere a bit farther. Not even caring she just left her job, her parents wouldn't mind that much anyway.

Minji then stopped when she got farther from the bakery. Siyeon was confused at Minji's actions and decided to ask.

"Minji? What's wrong?"

"It's him, the guy that you fought."

"What?! Why was he there?!"

"I don't know, I just, don't want problem to occur again. That's why I dragged you out, I didn't know what would happen if that man recognized us, I was scared."

"You were scared? But I'm here, I'll be there to protect you."

"Not that, I was scared of what would you do. Last time you fought, you were in perfect condition and that was not as well as you were. And you had a scary look on your face, you looked like you were ready to kill him. That's why I was scared."

Siyeon sat in silence, not knowing what to say.

"I just don't want you to get hurt okay?"

"Hurt? Why would I get hurt? You said yourself that you were scared of what I would do."

"Not that type of hurt, the emotional type of hurt. You could get a bad reputation because of beating someone up."

Minji was right, she could get hurt from that. The worse part is, if Minji didn't tell her that, she probably would've been reckless and went to fight that man if he wanted to. And that her identity could get exposed.

"You're right, I'm sorry."

"Again? Why are you saying sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. It's okay." 

"Okay, I'm sor-" 

Siyeon stopped herself mid-sentence because she almost apologized again. Minji just laughed at her playfully because she almost slipped up.

"You know what? Since we're already out of the bakery, let's just hang out a bit then come back later on." Minji suggested. 

"Your job?"

"It's fine, my parents will understand."

"Okay."

"Then, let's get going shall we?"

Minji and Siyeon hanged out that day for a while since they didn't get the chance to do so yesterday. Weird, because they were both a bit stressed because of each other.

But Siyeon could only be out for an hour or so since she was scared if one of her parents went looking for her to see if she wore the clothing given to her this morning.

After about an hour, Siyeon told Minji she had to leave since there was somewhere she had to be in. But before she left, Minji asked her something.

"Wait Siyeon, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Well, you don't need to answer this but, since you know where you can come see me. Can I know where I can come see you? Like maybe your house or something?"

Siyeon was stunned at this question, she didn't expect this. 

"Uh...I'm sorry I can't answer that right now. It's complicated, maybe when I'm ready to tell you, I will."

"Oh, it's okay! Sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything."

"No! No, it's fine really. I want to tell you but I can't."

"Okay, I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah, see you later!"

~~~~~|||~~~~~

It was like Siyeon could predict the future. As soon as she got herself into the clothes that was given by her parents, her mother knocked on her door to check on her.

The knock came startling Siyeon. It was barely a minute from when Siyeon got herself into her outfit.

"Come in!"

Her mother walked in her room revealing herself to Siyeon.

"Mother? What do you need from me?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how handsome my daughter looked."

Hearing this, Siyeon couldn't help but smile at her mother.

"Thank you mother, it means very much to me."

"You're welcome. I also knew you liked dark colored clothing so we got you darker colors on the outfit."

"Yes, I noticed that mother." Siyeon said with a giggle.

Silent took over for a couple of seconds but her mother then spoke.

"Siyeon, I just want to say that you don't need to force yourself to do or wear things you want to. I just want you to be happy okay? Your happiness is mine as well."

Siyeon went up to her mother and hugged her tightly, she wanted to cry because of how badly she wanted to do that. Her mother soothed her by rubbing her back while hugging her back. Siyeon sniffled a bit.

"Don't cry Siyeon, I just said tour happiness is mine, that also means that your sadness is mine too."

"Mother, I want to do the things I want but, will father agree with it? No, will the both of you agree with it? If my dream was crazy and beyond that, would both of you agree and support it?"

Her mother sighed silently but just enough for Siyeon to hear it.

"Like I said my beautiful daughter, you don't have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable or such. If you have good intentions with your dreams, then I support you. But, I don't know how your father will react." 

Siyeon's mother tilted her chin up so they could look at each other, but not releasing their hug. Siyeon shed a tear and her mother wiped it for her and kissed her forehead.

"Mother," Siyeon called.

"Hm?"

"I love you, and I'm sorry of I've done mistakes in the past before towards you mother. I'm so grateful for you."

"I love you too my daughter, and I'm also sorry if I've made mistakes in the past."

Her mother's eyes were watering now, Siyeon panicked, not knowing what to do.

"Mother? Please don't cry, I don't want to see the people I care about in pain."

"I'm fine Siyeon, I'm just glad to have you. I wouldn't have asked for a better daughter than you. Please remember that I'm proud of you and no matter what, I will always support you."

"Thank you once again mother."

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon's mother left after a while talking with Siyeon. Siyeon then laid in her bed, thinking about what her mother had said before. She wanted to do what she wanted so desperately, but it felt like it was impossible.

One person showed up in her mind as soon as she thought of what she wanted in her life. Minji. She wanted to be with her but knowing her father, he wouldn't even let her. Her father always thinks of his kingdom and family first, but Siyeon doesn't know which one came up to his mind more.

He always tried his best to make his kingdom the best of all lands, a good thing, but a bad one as well. Siyeon couldn't help but be scared of the future. What if he rejected her dreams and let her run his? 

The thought was scary to Siyeon, so she decided to walk in the gardens again. But along this time, no one with her. She wanted to be with herself at the moment and come back when it was already dinner.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon was walking in the farther side of the garden, the one that was deeper in it since the castle garden was very large and had many different parts in it. People don't really come here since the view wasn't that great, as least not as great as the other parts in it.

As she was walking she kept looking in different directions since she didn't want to keep looking at what was in front of her or at her feet while she was walking. It would be boring to do so. She stopped for a while cause she hasn't even stopped for a bit from when she was in her room to the entrance of the garden.

She took a look at her left which was filled with bushes and saw something like metal that was slightly, just barely peeked out. She decided to take a closer look due to her curiosity, and to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

Behind the bushes wasn't anything else, it was literally just bushes that the workers never took care of since nobody, no one visits this part of the garden. People just thought that it was pointless and scary. It was like bushes from mazes but there were no turns.

Turns out, her eyes wasn't lying to her. It was a piece of metal that looked like it belonged to a door. Being curious, Siyeon looked around to see if there was anybody watching or following her to slowly push it.

The metal did belong to a door, Siyeon tried to open it even though it felt heavy. She guessed that people never noticed this being here before, since it was difficult to get it open. But eventually, she got it to open up just enough to let herself in. What she saw behind the door had surprised her. 

It was a secret garden. Siyeon accidentally found herself a secret garden. She took a look around it trying to take in the view that was in front of her. She knew why people never went to this side of the garden now, it was near the woods. Which meant it reached the end of castle grounds.

The garden didn't look that big nor small, it was nice actually for her. She might actually like spending her time there, it seemed like a nice place for her to be with her thoughts. Apart from it being near the forest and being a bit far from the castle, everything was nice to her.

She decided she might spend some of her time there once in a while and cleaned the place up a bit. She cleaned some vines that were clinging to the pillars and places she could sit by. It took her a while since she didn't want to get her clothes dirty, but she got the job done.

After that, she decided to exit the secret garden and get back to the castle since she didn't want to miss dinner. She got to her room and cleaned herself up once more, being very carefull to get rid of every single dirt that would possibly be on her.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After dinner, she changed out of the clothes and went into her sleepwear. She laid on her bed and tried tried to go to sleep surprisingly slow, she had to wait for a while until her mind settled and finally drifted to sleep.


	9. Surprises

A month has passed since Siyeon found the secret garden, she didn't tell Bora, Handong, or anyone that she knew about it. It was a secret garden after all and she planned to keep it that way.

Yubin was also getting herself ready to take the test to become a knight. She had trained very hard for it and people around her were really supportive, including Siyeon and her friends. 

They kept their promise of keeping in touch with each other. When Siyeon, Handong, and Bora first heard that Yubin was applying to be a knight, they were scared at first. There was a chance that they could accidentally run into each other.

But, they already accepted the fact that someday they have to tell the others. Tell them they live in the castle and all the stories of where they all came from was all a lie. They can't lie forever.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Today was the day Yubin was going to take the test, everyone was nervous on how she would do, Yubin included. But, they all knew that Yubin would pass. They believed in her no matter what and will always be proud of her.

Siyeon, Handong, and Bora wanted to be there with Minji and the others to wish Yubin good luck in person. But their positions in the castle held them back, their parents had told them to come to watch. Especially Siyeon.

The last thing that Siyeon, Bora, and Handong said to Yubin when they last saw her was "Don't be surprised". That was their code of telling Yubin that she was probably going to see them at the ceremony.

Yubin was confused at what they said and thought it meant at her not being surprised at failing the test. Which was completely wrong, but that only made Yubin work harder and creating a stronger mental to prepare her for the worse.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon was now sitting in one of the chairs that overlooked the ceremony, Bora and Handong was sitting by her side with Bora on her left and Handong on her right. The three of them were nervous, because they were scared of what to do if Yubin saw them.

The place where they were sitting wasn't that high, so that made it easier for people to see them. More specifically, the people that were taking the test could see them easily. 

A horn blew to sign that it was starting soon and a lot of people (the ones enrolling) came into the place where the test will take place. The three of them tried to find Yubin in the crowd that was below them.

Finally they spotted her, she had short brown hair and a light armor she was wearing, ones that were for people that were new. They held hands together wanting and not wanting Yubin to spot them at the same time.

Then it happened, Yubin looked into their direction and had a surprised expression on her face then quickly masking it. She had to be composed for this, she couldn't fail this. Out of the three of them Bora was the most scared. 

Over the time, her and Yubin got really close to each other and Bora had gotten feelings for the younger girl. She doesn't know how Yubin feels towards her then, but now, she really doesn't know what Yubin feels towards her. She just hopes it wasn't hatred or betrayal. 

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They had a few test given to the participants, testing their skills using swords, bows, and also tested their agility, endurance, reflexes, and others. By the end of it, every participant was heavy on their breaths and sweating under the heat of the sun.

They were accepting only 20 people and was going to call out their names one by one. They didn't do it by order or the alphabets or how well they did the test, it was random, so that the tension would be higher.

Five people, then ten, then fifteen, and Yubin's name still wasn't there. Then, the last name was getting called. Lee Youngjae. Yubin's name didn't get called, she looked down in shame. She failed. They then were told to leave expect for the ones who made it.

Siyeon's, Bora's and Handong's heart was crushed. Bora being the one most hurt, the person she cared about probably didn't feel that great and she wanted to comfort her. But she couldn't, she had to stay at that damn ceremony.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After what felt like eternity, it finally ended. The three of them tried not to look as rushed as they were, Siyen asked a guard if the participants before already left before or if they were still there. Thankfully, he said haven't left yet.

Then Siyeon asked him where they were and he pointed at a direction that They went to. The three of them then thanked the guard and went to look for Yubin. Hoping to find her there.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After looking for her for a couple of minutes they found her. Yubin was sitting down with her shoulders going downwards, the sight broke their heart. They then went up to Yubin and talked to her. They kneeled in front of her.

"Yubin? Are you okay?" Bora asked first.

"Bora? So that was you, I thought I was seeing things..."

"I'm really sorry Yubin." Siyeon spoke.

"For what? You did nothing wrong."

They all fell silent for a while until Yubin spoke again.

"When you guys said "Don't be surprised" did you mean me failing, or me seeing you guys as royalty."

"Of course it was the royalty part, we never even thought of you failing. That never crossed our mind." Handong spoke.

Suddenly, a call of a guard made their heads perk up his way.

"Attention! All participants are asked to head back to the ceremony!"

They were all confused, they didn't know anything about this. The results were out, why were all of them called back. They still followed what the guard said and went back to where they were told to go.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

The king was the one to ask all of them to come back, if it was him, then clearly it was important. Another man was there as well, an announcer was there standing next to the king. He had a paper in hand, and the king told him to read it.

It appears a change of the results was made. The participant named Lee Youngjae was found guilty of cheating in the test because he had connections with people from within the castle walls.  
Due to this matter, the judges had looked back on all the participants performances and how well they did. The nineteen people that were accepted still made it in but now one spot is empty, one name will be called out to fill that empty spot.  
The last person that is going to be accepted is,  
Lee Yubin.

Bora had every fiber of her being hold herself back from screaming on top of her lungs, the four of them (Yubin included) were beyond happy. The three of them had to hold their smiles back to avoid suspicion.

Then after the sudden change, the participants all were allowed to spend a week at home, then they will all move to train. The ceremony had ended and everyone was free to leave. 

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon trusted her mother with her whole heart, and Siyeon had a plan in mind. A dangerous one, one that Bora and Handong was doubtful of. The three of them wanted to sneak out today, but they were scared of getting caught or having people look for them.

Siyeon wanted to ask permission to her mother to sneak out, she also wanted her to not tell anyone about it, especially her father. Siyeon herself was doubting the plan but continued to do so anyways with Handong and Bora at her side. They talked privately.

"What is it Siyeon? Is something wrong? Did something happen to the three of you?" Her mother asked.

"Uhm...we actually came here to ask permission to tou for something." Siyeon spoke.

"What is it?"

"Could we perhaps, maybe, go explore the town for a while. We promise to be safe and come back afterwards."

Her mother had her eyes wide after hearing what Siyeon said. She definitely did not expect this.

"Oh, uh, well, I don't know how to respond to that."

They all panicked, thinking they screwed everything up.

"But, I'll let you go. As long as you promise to keep each other safe then it's okay I suppose. And I won't tell anyone about this don't worry."

"Really?" Siyeon was shocked.

"Yes, now go. You're wasting time, and make sure to disguise yourselves. Try to wear less elegant clothing."

"Of course mother, once again thank you and I love you."

"I love you too."

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Once they get into Siyeon's room, they changed outfits and talked at the same time.

"Well that went surprisingly well." Handong said.

"I know, I thought we were going to die because of Siyeon."

"Like I said, we can trust my mother."

"Thank god we can trust her, she's probably the only person in the castle to be allowed to know this." Handong added.

"Agreed." Bora and Siyeon said at the same time.

After getting ready, the three of them head out to meet the others that were waiting for them at a restaurant. They were going to celebrate Yubin getting accepted.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Finally, the three of them arrive at the restaurant, and got to a private reserved spot at the restaurant. It was Siyeon's treat so it didn't even budge the amount of riches she had.

They got to their room and was greeted by the other four that was already sitting down at their table. Bora, Siyeon, and Handong joined them.

They ordered their foods and went to talking with each other.

"So, now that we're all here. Yubin, go ahead and tell us what happened when you took the test."

Siyeon and Yubin locked eyes with each other and gave a look toward one another. They both knew exactly what that looked meant.

"Well, first of all it was crazy. There were a lot of people that was also participating and made me nervous for a while but I got over it since I believed in myself."

"What about the princess? Her face has never been revealed to the public." Gahyeon suddenly asked.

Siyeon froze in her seat, she was glad Yubin was a nice person. But, Gahyeon was a curious child and no one could stop that.

"The princess?"

Everybody was curious about what the princess was like, Minji was one of those people.

"Well for starters, she was beautiful and she wasn't wearing a dress. She more something that fitted a prince more but that didn't look weird on her. I think it would fit her better if she wore those type of clothing. But she wasn't the one that caught my eye, there were two people sitting next to her. Maybe her friends or such, but the one on her left really caught my eye."

"Why was that?" Bora asked.

Yubin chuckled at Bora's question, she knew what she was doing.

"Well, the princess was beautiful of course and the girl in her right was also extremely beautiful. But, the one on the left was like an angel. I couldn't believe a person that beautiful existed. Really, I thought I would get distracted by her."

"Now I really want to see the three of them in person, since you said the three of them were extremely beautiful."

"Too bad I'm the only one who saw them."

After that, they didn't really asked that many questions about the princess or her friends. They talked about other things than that while waiting for their food.

After waiting for a while, their food came. They had eaten it deliciously as it was a bit expensive for Minji's friend group, but not for Siyeon's. They were a bit hesitant to let Siyeon pay everything but she reassured everyone.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They had finished eating and got out of the restaurant to go walk around the town for a bit and since there were seven of them, they decided to split into groups. Siyeon obviously being with Minji, Bora with Yubin, and leaving Handong, Yoohyeon and Gahyeon together.

They all split up and went to different directions. Bora and Yubin decided to go to the park once again to lay down on the grass and lay next to each other.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When they arrived, they laid down beneath a huge tree. Being comfortable with each other, despite how different their personalities are. They enjoyed each other's company. Evem if they were just silent most of the time.

"So, I almost got you distracted?" Bora teased.

"Yes, yes you almost did miss Kim Bora."

"Thank you, I know I'm irresistible."

"Did I say anything about you being irresistible?"

"Then am I not?"

"Well no...but-"

"I knew it."

"You didn't even let me finish my sentence!"

"Then what were you going to say?"

"Well, nothing really. I had nothing to back myself on this one."

They both laughed at the conversation they just had. Yubin was usually great at comebacks but Bora made her shy and unable to do so. Yubin looked at Bora and thought to herself "what kind of spell do you have over me?". She felt like Bora had her under her fingertips.

Then suddenly Bora looked at her. 

"Yubin? You're spacing out."

"Huh?"

Bora just chuckled at Yubin. Then Bora said something.

"You're cute."

Yubin was left speechless, she just blushed as she was looking at Bora. 

"Th-thank you."

Yubin turned her head to look at the sky instead of Bora, she thought she couldn't handle making eye contact with Bora. But something much more than that came, Bora snuggled into Yubin and hugged her waist, looking at Yubin. At this point, Yubin's whole face was red.

"Thank you for not telling anyone."

Yubin was confused for a second then understood what she meant.

"Huh? Oh, yeah no problem. I know you guys hide yourselves for a reason so I figured, and I'm also a decent person."

"Can you please keep this a secret? For a while, we'll tell them when we're ready."

"Of course."

They were looking at each other once again, it felt like only the two of them were there. Nothing else mattered to them at that moment, silence took over.

"Bora?"

"Hm?"

"Can I...nevermind."

"What is it?"

"Nothing, it'll just make you uncomfortable."

"Alright then, can I ask you something as well?"

"Sure."

"Can I kiss you?"

Yubin's heart skipped a beat, she thought Bora could read her mind. That was what she wanted to ask before, she was just scared Bora didn't feel the same as her. Yubin swallowed a lump in her throat and answered.

"Yes."

Bora moved closer to Yubin, straddling her in the process. Yubin was a bit surprised by her actions but didn't mind it, she thought that would be a less awkward position.

Their chest were touching each other's now and they could feel the others breath. Yubin's eyes went towards Bora's lips and Bora's eyes did the same. Their noses were touching and their faces were only one centimeters apart.

Yubin was sure that Bora could feel how fast her heart was beating, they were both so close with each other. Bora then tilted her head a bit to the side and moved her head closer, then they kissed.

They felt their lips connect and move in a slow but blissful rhythm. Yubin's hands went to Bora's waist and one of Bora's hand went to cup Yubin's cheek. They slightly quicken their places and kissed each other deeper. 

They felt themselves running low on their breaths and even though they wanted to continue, they stopped. They rest their foreheads on each others and stayed in that position for a while. Until Bora moved to Yubin's side again and hugged her.

"Well that was my first kiss." Bora spoke first.

"Me too."

Silence took over them again, not knowing what to say after what just happened.

"Guess that was a nice farewell present."

They both chuckled at Yubin's remark.

"Hope it was the best one."

"I can already see it being the best one."

They both laid down and talked on the grass for a while and then got up to go back to the place where they would meet back again.

They held each other's hand as they were walking back to where they would meet up, Yubin and Bora talking about Bora's actual childhood and how the things worked around the castle.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After the seven of them were back at the meet up spot, they decided it was time to go back home. Even though they wanted to hang out with each other for longer, Bora, Handong, and Siyeon couldn't.

They gave each other hugs and said their goodbye's to each other but Bora did more than that to Yubin. Bora kissed one of Yubin's cheeks in front of the others which left them feeling shocked.

Then, Bora dragged Siyeon and Handong away to go to the castle. Yubin was left dumbfounded and felt her cheeks grow warmer and turn into the color red. Her friends asked her what happened between them and Yubin answer with a simple "shut up". They were never going to stop teasing her.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When they got to Siyeon's room, Bora was quickly pulled into interrogation. But, she quickly escaped it by telling them they needed to change their outfits and hide their disguises. They listened but won't let Bora off it.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After they all finished cleaning things up, they pulled Bora started to interrogate her again. Starting with Handong.

"So, care to explain Kim Bora?"

"No, I don't actually."

"Just tell us already, you know we're not gonna let this go." Siyeon said.

"Ugh, fine. We kissed okay? Happy?"

"You did? On the lips or somewhere else?" Handong asked.

"On her lips."

"Congrats..? I guess..?" Siyeon added.

"Thank you, I'm very honored of it. But what about you? Have you kissed Minji yet?"

Hearing this shocked Siyeon, she hasn't done it yet, she was a coward that was actually scared of kissing Minji.

"Shut up. We haven't..."

"You haven't?!" Handong and Bora said in shock.

"Yes we haven't."

"This is really unexpected, I would've thought that you two were already planning to move in together to be honest." Handong spoke.

Siyeon threw a pillow in Handong's direction. But Handong dodged it and let it hit the floor.

"Shut up, let's move on from this topic. Handong, how're you and Yoohyeon doing?"

This time, Handong picked up the pillow and threw it at Siyeon, hitting her.

"Shut it. I agree, we should move on from this topic."

The four of them talked for a while in Siyeon's room then decided to walk around the garden but not entering the deeper side of it. There was no reason for Handong and Bora to do so, but for Siyeon there was.

They spent their time together as the waited for dinner to come, and when it did, it ended quickly as there was nothing special to it. They only talked about the ceremony today and the participants.

After that, they all went to their own rooms to do whatever they wanted to do. Siyeon stayed on her balcony to think for a while about the direction she was heading with Minji.

She really liked Minji, maybe even love Minji. But her position as princess was the only thing that stopped her from risking it all for one woman. 

She thought about the conflicts it will create, especially since they were both girls. One was a princess to inherit the throne, one was a simple baker living in the town. No blood from royalty running in her veins.

After sitting in silence for a while, she decided it was a good enough time to go to bed already. She got ready for sleep and closed her eyes.


	10. First Time

Siyeon woke up the next day and got ready for the day. She just explored the castle to fulfill her boredom, she was walking around for a while when she suddenly came across the kitchen. She didn't know why but she went in to see what they were doing.

There were a few workers that were cooking various foods, desserts, and others. There was another side that made drinks, and another for baked goods. That immediately reminded Siyeon of Minji.

She smiled at the thought of Minji, but quickly hid it to keep her cold image intact. She thought of how skillful Minji was that she could bake. To Siyeon, that was something she thought impossible for her.

She went out of the kitchen only to run into her mother. 

"Siyeon? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, nothing mother. I was just bored so I looked around."

"Very well then, how was yesterday?"

"Oh, it was lovely mother. And thank you once again."

"It's not a problem."

"I'll be leaving now mother, if you'll excuse me."

"Where exactly are you going? Your room or somewhere else?"

"Maybe both mother, if you'll allow me."

"I allow you, as long as you don't create trouble and be carefull."

"Okay mother."

After the conversation ended, Siyeon left her room and thought about what she wanted to do that day. Looking at the bakers in the kitchen before made her want to meet Minji. 

She decided later that she would meet Minji and maybe, maybe ask her permission to watch her bake something. Maybe she even wanted Minji to teach her a few recipes, even though that all looked impossible to Siyeon. But there's no wrong in trying right?

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon went to town with Bora and Handong with her, they insisted on coming with her since they wanted to meet with someone else that lived in town.

They went to the bakery where Minji was most likely in, they spotted her serving a drink to a customer. When Minji saw them, her whole faces light up and greeted them. Siyeon swore Minji looked like an angel when her face lit up. 

"Hi Minji! Nice to see you again," Bora greeted.

"What brings you guys here?"

"Well, forgive us if this is a bit rude but, do you perhaps know where me and Bora can find Yoohyeon and Yubin?"

"It's fine, don't worry. I can give you their address if you want, they did ask me about yours yesterday but I didn't know. I'm sure they'd be happy if you visited."

"Really?" Bora asked.

"Yes, and they also live close to each other so you'll fine both of them easily."

Minji gave Handong and Bora their addresses, and they left after receiving it. Siyeon was still there and Minji guessed that she had something to ask as well.

"Now that they have what they wanted, I'm sure you came here with a goal as well. What do you need?"

"Uhm...well, first of all, you can reject this if you want to since you're busy with the bakery and all. Second of all, I'm sorry if this will sound weird."

"What is it?"

"Uh, I accidentally watched a couple of people bake near where I live and I want to ask you if it was okay with you to let me watch you bake..."

Siyeon felt a bit embarrassed by her request, it was quite weird for her anyways. But for Minji it was fine, she wanted to spend time with the younger girl anyways. Even though they already did yesterday.

"Alright then, I'm just going to tell my mother about it first, then we can go to my house to bake. Is that okay?"

"O-okay." Siyeon did not expect her to agree.

"Alright! Stay here for a bit, I'll be back in a moment."

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After Minji told her mother, the both of them started walking to Minji's home, they also talked about other things for a while and joked around with each other. 

When they arrived to Minji's home, Minji looked at the ingredients that were at her house. She also asked Siyeon what she wanted to bake, Siyeon wasn't ready to answer that question so she just said what came into her mind first, tart. She didn't know why, but it was just there.

Minji started to look for ingredients that she needed to make a simple but nice tart. She also wanted to teach Siyeon how to make it. Siyeon was a bit hesitant at this at first, since she was scared of burning Minji's kitchen down but eventually agreed with her.

Minji got all the ingredients down at the kitchen table and asked Siyeon to come. 

"Have you ever tried making a tart before?"

"No...I've actually never baked before..."

"Was that why you were a bit hesitant?"

"Yeah." And also because I have a very beautiful girl in the same room as me. But Siyeon kept that thought to herself.

"It's okay, I'm going to help you bake!"

"Then I wish you good luck," Siyeon joked.

Minji and Siyeon decided they were going to make a strawberry tart together. They started to cut the strawberries first, Siyeon was a bit scared since she had never done this before and tried. But, the result wasn't that great.

Minji noticed Siyeon struggling and decided to help her.

"You need some help?"

"Yes actually..."

"Alright, let me help you a little."

Minji tried to help Siyeon from her side by controlling her arms, but that only felt like an uncomfortable position to do so. So, she went behind Siyeon and decided to help her from there.

"Is this okay with you?"

"Y-yeah, it's fine," Siyeon mentally face palmed herself for stuttering.

Minji's heart was trying to escape her chest, she hoped that Siyeon wouldn't be able to feel it due to their close proximity. She tried to keep calm since she was cutting strawberries, but that was so difficult to do for her.

Siyeon was no different, she felt her heart rate speeding up and cheeks reddening because of Minji. Minji's hands were on her's to guide her cutting strawberries, she couldn't focus since Minji was pressed up against her and started to pinch Minji's hands.

"Siyeon? Why are you pinching my hand?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry it's a habit of mine. Sorry if I hurt you."

"No, it's fine. You can keep going if you want to."

"But I have to cut these strawberries."

"Ah, right."

Minji had actually forgotten for a second that she was teaching Siyeon how to cut strawberries. She started focusing again and so did Siyeon, they cut the strawberries together. All of them.

They didn't even notice they cut all of the strawberries together, it was only until Minji noticed there were no strawberries left for them to cut. None of them felt uncomfortable being in that position and that's why they stayed like that.

"Are there no strawberries left?"

Siyeon and Minji looked around only to end up staring at each other.

"Uhm...no...I don't think so," Siyeon said while looking at Minji.

The both of them froze at that position. Their gaze flickered from each other's lips to their eyes, both not daring to move but wanting to at the same time.

Minji dared herself to move a bit forward closer to Siyeon. The younger girl held her breath as she felt one of Minji's soft hands move to her waist. Feeling how Minji wanted this as bad as Siyeon does, she decided she would stop being coward.

Siyeon grabbed Minji's other hand that was still resting on her's and put it on her waist, while her hands snaked around Minji's neck. Their lips hovered on the other's, while the space between their bodies were gone.

Finally, their lips connected. They moved their lips in a slow movement, not wanting to take things to fast. They deepened their kiss by pushing Siyeon more into the counter of Minji's kitchen.

They kissed for quite a while, wanting to savor the moment. They had been waiting to taste the other's lips for too long in their opinion. But eventually, they parted because of the lack of oxygen.

They kept their eyes closed as they let go of the other's lips, still keeping each other close. They finally look at each other after being silent for a while. They gave each other a slight peck that only lasted for a second.

"Finally," Minji silently whispered to herself.

"Huh?" Siyeon accidentally heard it.

"You heard that?"

"Was I not supposed to?"

"No, your weren't," Minji said while chuckling. 

"Have you been waiting for this?"

"If I need to be honest, then yes. I've been wanting to kiss you."

"Thank god we share the same feeling."

They both chuckled at what Siyeon said.

"I think we need to continue baking now," Minji said.

"I agree."

They continued baking the tarts together until they finally finished, they waited for the tarts to cool down for them to be able to eat it, they cleaned themselves up for a bit and went to Minji's room to wait for the tarts.

Minji sat down on her bed, letting herself rest. She patted the spot next to her to tell Siyeon to come sit down with her. 

"What a day," Siyeon spoke first.

"Indeed."

"I can't believe I actually baked today, never thought I would."

"Why don't you?"

"My family never bakes and I never go to the kitchen, simple as that."

"What does your family do by the way? I don't think you've ever told me."

"Uhm...it's a bit complicated to explain so I think I'm going to pass that question. If you don't mind."

"Oh, sorry. But yeah it's fine."

"Enough about that, something even more interesting happened today," Siyeon smiled as she knew what she was referring to.

"Really? Would you be kind enough to tell me then?"

"I don't think so, it seems like you already know what happened."

"Why if I don't?"

"If you don't then I'll tell you, today I was kissed by a beautiful, kind, and lovely girl," she said all those thing while looking at Minji.

"May I know who this girl was?"

"Of course, it was Kim Bora."

"What?"

"I'm just kidding, it was Kim Minji."

"If that was true, I'd be ready to punch you and Bora."

"Thankfully it's not."

Silence envelops them again for a few seconds, the both of them kept looking at each other again, getting lost in one's eyes. Siyeon came closer to Minji closing her eyes in the process. That is until Minji said something.

"I think the tart is good enough for us to eat."

Siyeon was confused, she saw the playful smirk Minji gave her. She knew exactly what kind of game she was playing. Minji stood up and got out of her room to go to the kitchen. Siyeon waited for a second and then followed.

"Siyeon! I think these will taste good!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, come on let's try them."

Minji and Siyeon each took a tart and bit out of them. Siyeon was surprised that something she baked for the first time tasted good, guess Minji being there helped.

"You're right, these do taste good."

"Told you."

They kept munching on the tarts but left a few untouched. Minji put them into a nicer plating rather than a simple tray. She was grabbing the plates and putting on them on the table when she suddenly felt arms around her waist that made her stay in her place.

"Siyeon? What're you doing?"

"Just switching places, wanted to know what it felt like to be in your position."

"Then let's recreate the moment before, shall we?"

Minji and Siyeon looked at each other again, and Minji turned herself around to let her hands wrap around Siyeon's neck and press their bodies closer. Once again, the space between their body disappeared.

They closed their eyes again, feeling the other move their face closer. Then, they connected their lips again and move at a slightly faster pace than before. Copying what Minji did before, Siyeon deepened their kiss by pushing Minji more into the table.

They parted their lips from each other and let their foreheads rest against the other one's. The lack of oxygen got into them again. Siyeon opened her eyes to see Minji still kept her's closed.

Their kiss this time didn't last as long as their first, even though the first one barely lasted a minute. Suddenly, Minji gave Siyeon a surprising peck. Copying Siyeon's action.

They looked at each other and smiled towards each other. Feeling a warm feeling rising in their whole body. Siyeon didn't know why, but she asked Minji a question.

"Can I take you out on dates now?"

"Hm..."

"Please?"

"Of course you can silly. I wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't want you to."

"That's good to hear then."

They both stayed in that position for a while, just admiring each other's visuals. Siyeon noticed Minji had a small mole on her lips that she could only see in the place she was in at that moment.

Minji noticed how powerful and striking Siyeon's visual was. Her face was a scary type of face but her personality was the complete opposite. Inside, Minji thought Siyeon was just a baby sometimes.

They both kept their little staring contest going until a knock on a door startled the both of them. Making them pushing each other off of the other. Minji went to open the door only to see Bora and Handong standing there.

"Minji, is Siyeon here?" Bora asked.

"Yeah, she's here why?"

"Can you tell her we need to go home?" Handong said.

Siyeon appeared behind Minji after she heard Bora's and Handong's voice.

"We need to go home?"

"Yeah," they both replied.

"Oh, okay then. I'm just gonna grab my things and I'll be back with you guys."

"Alright,"

Siyeon grabbed her leather satchel and said goodbye to Minji, by giving her a peck on the lips and a tiny "bye". Minji got slightly surprised but didn't mind her actions one bit.

After that, Siyeon grabbed Bora and Handong and left Minji's home.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

"Was what that about?" Bora asked first.

They were still walking back to the castle so they thought, why not talk?

"Exactly, we need an explanation."

"Well...me and Minji kissed today."

"You did? Finally, took you long enough," Handong said.

"How was it? And how'd it happen?"

"We were baking together and I couldn't cut the strawberries that we were preparing. So, she helped me by hugging me from behind and guiding my hands. After that, we accidentally cut every strawberry we needed. When we looked around and saw no strawberries were left, we accidentally locked eyes and kept staring at each other."

"And then?" Bora impatiently easked.

"Well, we kissed."

"My baby finally did it," Handong said while wiping a fake tear.

"Shut up, you're younger than me by the way."

"We all know I'm mentally older than you."

"Anyways, did anything else happen?" Bora interrupted 

"Uh...we kissed again? But we switched positions with me hugging her from behind."

"My baby is really growing up," now Bora wiped a fake tear.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They finally got to Siyeon's room with Siyeon having to survive their teasing, they did their usual routine with hiding everything and all. They went around the castle to fulfill their boredom from waiting for dinner.

Everything went the usual way of nothing interesting to Siyeon happening and keeping her cold image up again for everyone else to see. Deep inside, she was still thinking of Minji.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon prepared herself for bed time and laid on her bed. She closed her eyes and the sudden image of Minji being close to her appeared, she blushed thinking of that memory.

She couldn't get rid of how Minji's lips felt like even if she tried. They felt nice and soft in her lips. She wanted to be the only person who could feel Minji's lips. 

She then started to drift off to sleep after recalling the events of today. The one with Minji being the highlight of her day, every second with Minji to Siyeon was wonderful. Only because Minji was in it.


	11. Promises

3 years later

Three years have passed and Siyeon and Minji's relationship has gotten stronger. Today was the day Siyeon was going to confess about her identity, the older girl had actually never been by Siyeon that she was the princess or even related to anything with the castle.

Of course Minji has asked many times before, about where she lived, her house, and others, but Siyeon only answered that she wasn't to tell her. They even had a fight about it, Minji was sceptical about Siyeon for a small fragment of the time they spent together. But, in the end, she trusted Siyeon fully.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon went to the bakery where Minji always helped her parents, they were still in business and were still famous even after all this time. They already set up a date today but the location was somewhere near the castle. Specifically, a route where Siyeon would sneak in and out of the castle.

She opened the door to the bakery, greeted by the smell of baked goods that she never got tired of. She saw Minji standing behind the counter but sitting down, maybe because she was waiting for Siyeon. She perked her head up to the sound of the bell ringing and saw Siyeon.

Her face lit up when she saw her, she got up to go to Siyeon and hugged the younger girl when they were close enough to do so. Siyeon took Minji's hand and they exited the bakery together. Minji didn't know anything about the date except that Siyeon has something important to say.

"So, now that we're together, can you tell me where we're going?"

"No, that'll ruin the surprise."

"You're no fun," Minji pouted.

"That's definitely a lie."

"True." 

They both chuckled. But Siyeon's face turned serious in a split second. Minji sensed it and quickly stopped her tracks, Siyeon following after. Before she even got to ask, Siyeon beat her to it.

"Minji."

"What is it Siyeon? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing. At least I hope it'll be that way."

"What do you mean?"

"Minji, will you love me no matter what? You won't treat me differently no matter what? You'll always stay by my side no matter what?"

"Siyeon, you already know the answer to that. You know I will, you know I love you. More than I can express it, is something bothering you Siyeon? You're scaring me."

"I didn't mean to...I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. Don't worry baby, I'll stay by your side even if fate doesn't let me to."

Minji hugged Siyeon and kissed the side of her head, Siyeon returned her hug.

"We're going to my house today," Siyeon suddenly announced.

"Your house?" 

Minji let go of Siyeon to look at her in the face. Siyeon was actually taking her to her room, not the castle. She wouldn't be in the right mind to do so.

"Yes, I think it's time you know."

"Are you sure? You don't need to feel pressured to tell me you know?"

"I'm sure, I don't what will happen if I don't tell you now. It's been three years Minji, I think I'm ready to tell you."

"Alright then, if that's what you want."

Siyeon was getting ready to walk again before she had another thing to say.

"You promise right?"

"Hm?"

"That you'll love me no matter what, you won't treat me differently, you won't leave me?"

"I promise."

"Okay."

After the their promise, they started to walk again. Towards Siyeon's route of going home. They filled in the silence by talking again, Siyeon was the one that started the conversation.

"Have you heard that Yubin was a soldier now? Not an army cadet anymore."

"She did? That's good to hear I guess."

"Yeah, I'm sure she's going to go higher in the ranks."

"But, how did you know though? She never told us. And she barely comes home because of her occupation."

"I'll tell you that later, when we arrive."

"Okay," Minji was a bit sceptical but let it go anyways.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They were getting closer little by little and Minji suddenly realised something. The road they were walking was the one Siyeon got in a fight with a drunk man. The one where Minji was threatened. She was a bit scared but Siyeon was there with her so that made her a bit better.

She held Siyeon's hand tightly due to her fear of walking the streets of the bad side of the town. As if Siyeon sensed her fear, she snaked an arm around Minji's waist, making sure she'll stay safe and telling her that it was okay and other calming words.

They then entered an alley way and this was the moment Siyeon had to tell her what she usually does, climbing a few walls. This would leave Minji confused but, it was the only way to tell her. And this was where she had to tell her to advance further. 

"Siyeon? Why did we stop?"

"This isn't where I live, obviously, but this is how I get there."

"And where are we going?"

Siyeon got closer to Minji and held both of her hands while she stood in front of her.

"I actually live in the castle."

"You what?"

"I live in the castle, my parents as well."

"Siyeon, are you serious? You live in the castle?"

"Yes..."

"How do you- no, nevermind. I'll stop talking, I'm sure I'll get an explanation when we arrive. Let's just go there first and you can give me answers to my questions there, since this doesn't look like an ideal place for that."

Siyeon was a bit surprised, but she listened to what Minji said and guided her in the perplexed route of her way back home. It was a bit tiring but the both of them were strong enough to get through it. Siyeon from martial arts while Minji from baking.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They were already close to Siyeon's room and only had to take a few steps to reach it. And they finally did, Minji noticed how elegant the room was. How it was everything compared to Minji's bedroom. She saw there was a balcony that overlooked a wonderful view.

Minji was admiring the room, taking in all the details it had in it. She kept walking around and looking around, her mind still not being able to wrap around such an image in her mind. But Siyeon broke the silence that took over Minji after a while.

"I'm sure you're wondering, where is this, who this belongs to, and everything related to that."

"Yes, of course."

"This room belongs to the princess."

"Siyeon, what?" Minji kept her voice silent and silently screamed at Siyeon.

"Don't worry."

"What do you mean? Siyeon, this is the princess's room. Are we even allowed in here?"

"Yes, we are. I allow us to be in here."

Minji wanted to fight Siyeon again but stopped herself, processing what Siyeon had just said. She allows them to be in here, she noticed it and shocked filled her entire body.

"Wait, you allow us to be in here?"

"Yes, I allow us."

"Does that mean...you're the princess?"

"Yes..."

Minji stayed silent for a while.

"You're the princess."

Siyeon stayed silent at her statement.

"Even saying it doesn't feel real. You're the princess, I can't believe it. Is this why you asked me to promise before?"

"Yes."

"Does the king and queen know about this? About us?"

"No, no one knows except our friends."

"And do they know you're princess?"

"Only Yubin, she saw me the day she took the test."

"Okay."

Minji stayed silent again, only to have something suddenly come inside her head.

"Siyeon, is Bora and Handong royalty too?"

Nothing, all she got was nothing.

"I mean, the three of you would come and go back home together. Never alone or just two, does that mean they live here too?"

"Yes, they do."

They stayed silent for a while, Siyeon was scared. She didn't know what Minji would do, she was scared of her leaving. She saw that Minji started to massage her head, that made her even scared. 

Siyeon was a princess and Minji was a baker, Siyeon shouldn't be scared of her. But she was. The awfully long silence was broken by Minji once again.

"How long do I have until I have to leave this place?"

"Until dinner time, which is still a long time."

"Okay. At least I can relax about that."

The painful silence came back and Siyeon hated it. It was the only time that Siyeon hated being quiet. Siyeon tried to break it by asking for Minji's reassurance.

"Minji?"

"What is it?"

The look on Minji's face made Siyeon stop her words for a second. Her eyes looked sharper than ever and overall she looked scary, even though Siyeon knew Minji was a ball of sunshine.

"Uhm...will this, will this change?

"Change?"

"Will this make us change?"

This made Minji lose the dark expression she had, and more into a surprised one. She didn't know she made Siyeon feel that way, she was just confused about the whole situation, that's why she had a dark look.

She quickly ran up to Siyeon and hugged her tightly, rubbed her back and tried to soothe her.

"No, no, it won't. I made a promise Siyeon. And even if we didn't make that promise, I'll still be the same towards you. Please don't ever think that."

Minji felt a part of her shirt got wet, she parted with Siyeon to look at her. Only to see that she shed a tear. The sight had broke Minji's heart. She made Siyeon shed a tear.

"Siyeon? I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you cry."

"No, it's fine."

Unable to see Siyeon like that, Minji cupped both of Siyeon's cheek and kissed her, deeply. She wanted to make the younger girl feel like she was loved by her, not the opposite.

She felt Siyeon return the kiss and put her hands on her waist. Both of them deepen the kiss and Siyeon walked backwards, towards her bed. She felt the back of her knees touching it and let herself fall.

Siyeon's hands started to explore Minji's body, just enough for her not to get carried away. Her whole body was on fire and was asking for more, but she knew she couldn't. At least not for now.

Minji wasn't quiet about it either, her body was burning and was wanting more of Siyeon's touch. She swiped her tongue on Siyeon's bottom lip and that earned her a particular sound that made her want to stop but keep going at the same time.

Eventually, the both of them parted their lips from each other. Breathing heavily when they did. They stayed like that for a while, while trying to catch their breath. So far, this is the furthest they went with each other.

"Remember that I won't let anything change us." 

Siyeon looked at Minji when she said that, it was a stern voice that she rarely heard from Minji. 

"Okay siyeon? I promised remember? Can you do the same for me as well?"

It took Siyeon a while to answer but she did eventually.

"I promise. I promise we'll keep loving each other no matter what and we'll always be together no matter what. I'll do everything I can to keep that promise."

They connected their foreheads together as they made that promise. They meant everysingle word and sentences that they had just said to each other. They kissed each other again with less intensity, less desire, a kiss that was full of emotions.

Siyeon broke the kiss to ask a question that has been on her mind since the day she meant Minji.

"Minji, what's going to happen in the future?"

"I don't know," Minji answered truthfully.

"I really want us to have a happy ending Minji."

"Me too, I want only the best for us. But, we can't control how life works and can only watch as life goes on."

Siyeon stayed silent for a while, both of them did. Not knowing what to say anymore. Siyeon then said something, or rather asked for something.

"Please kiss me."

Siyeon wanted to feel comfort, that's why she asked Minji to kiss her. So she did, she kissed Siyeon again. No matter how many times they kissed, it always felt magical for the both of them. It made them feel like they belong to each other even more than they do.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They stayed at Siyeon's room for a while until they decided that it was time to bring Minji back to her house. Siyeon accompanied Minji until she got to her house before leaving and returning to her own.

They kept thinking about what had happened today, mostly Siyeon admitting that she was princess and the promises they made that day. Both were going to do everything in their power to keep it, forever. 

They loved each other so much and they weren't going to let anyone break their bond of their own that could never be found in any other person except for them. They would go above and beyond to be with each other, they would fight for it, no matter who or what they were.


	12. Introduction

Siyeon had woken up and got ready for the day to tell Bora and Handong about yesterday. She wore clothing once more that resembled a prince, at this point, it was all she would wear in the castle. She never wore dresses anymore.

She looked for Handong and Bora only to find them in the castle garden, being in a conversation. She walked up to them and greeted them.

"Hey guys."

"Hi, what's going on?" Handong greeted.

"I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Handong replied again.

"Minji knows now."

Handong and Bora's eyes widened at her sentence. They definitely did not expect this.

"She does?" Bora asked.

"Yes, I told her yesterday. It went fine, i think. Yeah, i think so."

"You think?" Handong tried to confirm.

"Yes," Siyeon confirmed.

"If you say so," Handong replied.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They hanged out with each other for a while when suddenly, Siyeon had the urge to go back to her room, so she did. She excused herself from the other two and started walking towards her room.

She had a feeling that something was going to happen, she didn't know of that feeling was good or bad for her. But it was just there. So, she just followed her feelings which led her into her room.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When she opened her door, she was greeted by a woman already sitting on her bed. A woman she could recognize everywhere, Minji. Siyeon quickly closed her door and went over to Minji.

"Minji? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting," Minji calmly replied.

"You can come here by yourself?"

"Yup, I memorized the route last time I was here. And today, I decided why not visit you."

"Guess our roles are switched."

"You mean, you're usually the one that keeps on visiting me unexpectedly and now I'm doing that?"

"Yeah, is this going to be often now?" Siyeon joked.

"Who knows?"

Minji stood up to be in front of Siyeon and took a look of her outfit. She thought that Siyeon looked amazing in it. 

"Enjoying the view?"

Minji's head snapped back up only to see Siyeon was already staring back at her. She got caught staring at Siyeon.

"Yes I do actually, I enjoy the view very much."

Minji got closer to Siyeon again, this time putting her one of her hands on Siyeon's neck and the other on her waist. All of Siyeon's confidence went away because of Minji's small action.

Minji pulled Siyeon into a kiss, Siyeon then placed one of her hands on Minji's upper arm that was holding her hips while the other rest on Minji's waist.

They pulled back after a few moments and stayed in that position. At that moment, Siyeon wondered, how did a person like Minji exist? She was so perfect. She was too good to be true.

She was beautiful outside and on the inside. Her kindness was that of a saint. There were times where Siyeon thought that Minji was just a fragment of her imagination. She wondered how did Minji became hers.

Minji also wondered about a few things, she wondered how, how did the princess fall for her out of all the people that lived in the entire kingdom. How did she fell in love with a simple baker like her.

She thought this was just all a dream that one day she'll wake up from. But if it was, she would spend her entire dream being with Siyeon. She was so in love with her, she was scared of losing her.

Both couldn't handle the thoughts that had received from their own minds so they stayed like that, embracing each other. Siyeon then spoke to Minji.

"Let's lay down on my bed, I think that will be more comfortable."

"Okay."

The both of them climbed onto Siyeon's bed and unconsciously cuddled with each other. Siyeon was being held by Minji, her hair being stroke slowly by Minji. Siyeon clinged onto Minji like a koala, face buried into her neck.

The two of them stayed like that for a moment, not letting anything or anyone bothering them. Until, a knock suddenly came from the door.

"Siyeon? It's me, your mother. I'm coming in."

Before the two of them could react other than look at each other with horror written on their faces, Siyeon's mother came in.

"Siyeon, I- oh, uhm, who is this, siyeon?"

The both of them sat up from their previous position and Siyeon tried to explain.

"Mo-mother, I can explain. Please just relax and stay calm."

"Uhm, okay. I'll listen."

"This is..."

Siyeon looked at Minji trying to get her help since she didn't want to introduce her as her girlfriend because the situation could get weirder. 

"I-I apologize for the surprise your highness, my name is Kim Minji." Minji bowed her head.

"Well, what a pleasant surprise you gave me miss Kim. When and where did you meet Siyeon, may I ask?"

"I actually met her first mother, I was the one who approached her."

"You did?" Minji's mother asked.

"Yes, I met her at a bakery in town, a few y-years back."

"Years...?"

"Yes, years..."

"So...I could guess that the both of you are close?"

"Yes, mother."

Siyeon and Minji glanced at each other when Siyeon's mother asked that question.

"Minji," Siyeon's mother called.

"Yes, your highness?"

"How did you know Siyeon was the princess?"

"She told me your highness."

"When did she tell you?"

"Y-yesterday."

Siyeon's mother was a bit surprised at her statement. 

"Alright then, I trust you."

"What?" Siyeon said confusingly.

"You never know how people could be, that's why I had to ask her a few questions."

"Don't worry mother, you can trust her."

"I suppose, if you trust her then so can I. As long as Minji here is a good person then I allow you to be friends with her."

Siyeon and Minji looked at each other again when her mother said "friends", if only she knew they were so much more than that.

"Mother, what did you want to tell me when you came into my room?"

"Oh, right! I had almost forgotten about it. Your father and I decided to have a masquerade for Christmas later on."

"A masquerade?"

"Yes, your father wanted to try something new for a celebration so we decided to do a masquerade. It's still in 2 more weeks so you have time to plan your outfit for the day."

"Mother? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, go ahead."

"C-can Minji come as well?"

Minji's mother stayed silent because of her big request. Minji looked at Siyeon who was still looking at her mother.

"Please? I know it is a huge favor to ask but-"

"She can, I'll allow it."

"I can?" Minji was questioning the entire situation.

"Siyeon looks like she wants you to be there. So, don't dissapoint my daughter Minji."

"Yes your highness, I'll try my best to be there."

"Good. If you need any help with tour clothing go ask Siyeon for it and she'll ask the castle's tailor to make it. If she doesn't want to, then you can ask for me," Siyeon's mother said with a smile.

"Thank you your highness," Minji bowed again.

"I'll be leaving the two of you alone now, you can get back to what you two were doing."

"O-oh, thank you mother."

"As always my daughter, it's nothing."

Siyeon's mother then left her room and left the two of them together. The both of them still didn't believe that just happened. 

"That was...unexpected," Siyeon said.

"Yes, very. I didn't know your mother would come in and accidentally walk in on us cuddling."

"I know, but thank goodness it was just us cuddling. Who knows, she could've walked in on us kissing. That would be much worse."

"Agreed. Now, let's get back into our last position, okay?"

"Okay," they both smiled at each other.

Siyeon was once again clinging onto Minji like a koala except she didn't bury her face in the crook of Minji's neck anymore, she was looking directly at Minji's face. Siyeon got caught in a trance. Until, Minji broke it.

"Enjoying the view?" Minji said.

"Hm?"

"I said, enjoying the view?"

"Oh, yes. Very much," Siyeon chuckled.

"Good for you then."

Siyeon waited for a second until she spoke again.

"How are you so beautiful? And perfect?"

"Are you talking to yourself right now?"

"I'm not, I'm talking about you."

"If you insist."

"But really though, you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen in my life and the kindest person that I've met. Are you sure you're not an angel?"

"Yes, I'm sure I'm not an angel, Siyeon."

"If you insist."

Siyeon gave Minji a slight peck on her cheeks before resting her head on the crook of Minji's neck again, taking in her scent. She smelled a bit like pastries, mostly vanilla, maybe since she spent a lot of time in the bakery.

Siyeon felt herself starting to close her eyes slowly because of the comfort that was surrounding her. Minji stroking her hair certainly didn't help, that only made her want to close eyes even more. Eventually, she did.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon was woken up by someone shaking her body lightly.

"Siyeon? Wake up, I need to leave."

"Minji?"

"Yes, it's me. I need to go now, back to my house."

Siyeon sat up and stretched for a bit to wake herself up.

"You need to leave?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to walk you back?"

"No, it's fine. I can walk back myself, besides you just woke up."

"I can take you back don't worry."

"Like I said Siyeon, I'm fine."

"Okay."

They both got up from the bed and walked Minji to the window where Siyeon would sneak out of. 

"Wait, before you go," Siyeon suddenly said.

Siyeon gave a light peck again on Minji's cheek. Which caused her to smile.

"Thank you for that," Minji replied.

Then, Minji gave Siyeon a peck on her cheek, returning the favor. After that, Minji left and Siyeon was alone again in her room. Siyeon still had the cheeky smile Minji gave her. It still felt like the first time Minji kissed her cheek.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Dinner went by in a flash, at first, the food was being served. Then suddenly, Siyeon was walking back to her room. Suddenly, she felt someone following her from behind. When she turned to look, her mother was walking behind her, looking like she had something to say.

Siyeon mother signaled Siyeon to keep walking towards her room and Siyeon followed her command. When they got there, Siyeon asked her mother.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Is it about Minji?"

"Close, it's about you two."

"What's wrong with the both of us?"

"Nothing, I just thought of something. The chances of that "something" is unlikely to me but I just wanted to make sure."

"What is it, mother?"

"The two of you are together aren't you?"

"Wh-what. No, o-of course not."

"Siyeon, you're stuttering. You're clearly lying."

Siyeon silently curses at herself for stuttering.

"Just tell me the truth Siyeon, it's okay."

"Alright, we are."

"How long?"

"Three years. But, how did you know, mother?"

"It was very obvious with how the two of you positioned yourselves when I walked in. And your glances when I said the two of you were close and you two were friends."

"Oh," Siyeon had nothing to say.

"I'm fine with your relationship together, I only hope that Minji treats you right and you treat Minji right and the both of you are happy."

"Thank you mother."

"I'll get going now, you should go to sleep soon."

"Yes mother."

With that, her mother left her room. At least her mother was supportive of their relationship, was what Siyeon thought. She didn't know how others would react though. People can be very scary and that scared her.

She tried to not think of that matter too much anymore and prepared herself to go to sleep. She changed clothing and laid down on her bed, immediately falling asleep.


	13. Preparation

Siyeon was heading towards Minji's parent's bakery as always. She was going to ask her about the masquerade that she hoped both of them could attend together. 

She got there and went inside the bakery to try and locate Minji. As she did, she saw Minji in a ponytail, a look that she rarely saw from her. Minji was serving someone their drink then saw Siyeon entering.

She went to place the tray that she was holding near the counter and walked to Siyeon. Enveloping Siyeon in a hug, Siyeon returned the favor by giving Minji a hug as well.

"What are you doing here? We just opened and I know now's not the usual time you come by," Minji explained.

It was very early for Siyeon to come by, the shop had just opened and only one customer had gone in, excluding Siyeon.

"I wanted to talk to you about the masquerade," Siyeon spoke in a low voice.

"Let's sit down first, shall we?"

The both of them got into a spot away from other people, which was barely there. But better safe than sorry.

"What is it?" Minji asked.

"Are you coming to the masquerade?"

"I don't know, I haven't told my parents yet. But I want to go, only because of you."

Siyeon smiled upon hearing that and put both her hands on top of Minji's thag were resting on the table.

"Thank you for that, but if you were going, what type of dress would you like to wear?"

"Hm...I still haven't thought of that so I don't really have a dress in mind. But what about you? What are you going to wear?"

"Me? I think I'm just going to wear something similar to what I usually wear. It's going to have a lot of black, of course. And maybe some gold on top of it to mix in with the black."

"Sounds interesting..."

"I hope it'll make me look nice."

"Siyeon, are you kidding me? You look nice in everything, even with what you're wearing right now."

"Thank you for the compliment, but I think that should be aimed towards you."

They both laugh together after their little conversation, until Minji had an idea.

"What if I wore a dress similar to yours? Would that be okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it."

"Alright then, I think the dress will also have black and gold accents on it. But since your outfit has black as the dominant colour, I think I'll have gold as the dominant colour. What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea. That way, I can keep an eye on you and not let anybody else have you," Siyeon said 

"Oh, is Miss Lee becoming possessive over me?"

"Why of course I am, you're mine and only mine after all."

"Who said?" Minji said with a smirk.

"Fortunately, I did Miss Kim. Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, absolutely nothing wrong with it. Because I am your's and you are also mine." 

Minji took her hand up and stroked Siyeon's jawline as she said that sentence. Siyeon swore that she felt a chill run across her spine after what Minji said and did.

After their little exchange of words, they started to have a longer conversation about other things as well. But eventually, Minii had to go back to work. Siyeon stayed there for a while thinking about a few things and sometimes watching Minji work.

Eventually, Siyeon left the bakery only to go back to the castle again. She arrived at her room only to be feeling bored again, she decided to take a short nap to fulfill her boredom.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

One week before the masquerade 

Siyeon already asked the castle's tailor after Minji and her made ideas for the design of their outfit together. Hence, today she received the dress, suit, and mask all together.

Luckily, today was a day where Minji would usually come by the castle. The both of them agreed not to look at each other in their own outfits until it was the day of the masquerade. They could only look at the outfit and the person separately.

Siyeon's outfit had a long black coat with gold floral designs on the side of it. She wore a black dress shirt and a black vest to cover it. Her pants and shoes were also black. She wasn't kidding when she said it was going to have a lot of black. She topped off her look with a half face mask that was black and had gold patterns on it.

Minji wore a ballgown that was black and gold as well. The top part of her ballgown had floral patterns as well that was mostly dominated by black but the lower part had more gold and some black too. Her mask was the colored black on the right side that faded into a gold colour on the left. Both sides had different unique patterns that were coloured the opposite of the main colour on the mask.

Both were satisfied with how their outfits turned out to be and couldn't wait for the masquerade to happen just so they could see each other in their own outfits. They started to imagine what the other would look like in their outfits.

Siyeon wasn't the first to do so but Minji was, she stared at Siyeon with a piercing gaze that could make people feel like they were below her. Siyeon actually hadn't noticed it at first until she called for Minji but got nothing except for silence.

When she turned her head towards Minji's direction, there she saw her piercing gaze. She was a bit shocked at first because of the gaze she was recieving, she thought that it was different from her usual bright eyes that she had.

She felt herself getting embarrassed under Minji's stare and forced herself to look another way. It was too much for her to handle, her eyes were half - lidded, brows slightly knitted together and overall, her expression was everything of control.

Siyeon thought Minji looked like she could control and command everything and everyone in the world, even Siyeon herself. Maybe she wanted that. The thought of Minji controlling Siyeon, telling her what to do, surprisingly excited her.

Siyeon slowly turned her head to look at Minji again and still, her gaze was on her. Siyeon couldn't take her gaze anymore, it was driving her crazy. Her body seemed to speak for herself, she didn't know why, but since the both of them were laying in Siyeon's bed, Siyeon straddled her.

Minji, who was still blanking out, didn't notice Siyeon looking back at her for a moment, still lost in her own thoughts. It wasn't until Siyeon had gotten closer and she snapped out of it. How long was she staring at Siyeon? Was the question in her mind.

But Minji put all of that aside at that moment, since Siyeon decided to sit on her lap. Minji tried to hide her shocked expression and kept her commanding face without even knowing it was dangerous and what it did to Siyeon.

Minji looked at Siyeon with her every action, keeping the same expression on her face. Siyeon put her hands on Minji's shoulder that went upwards slowly, one resting on her cheek, the other resting on her neck.

Minji then put her hands on Siyeon's thigh and caressed it slowly. She pulled Siyeon closer by her hips and let their faces apart with only a small space between them. The movement made Siyeon let out a squeal that she couldn't hold back. It surprised herself as she didn't know she could make such a sound.

The sound that Siyeon let out was also surprising for Minji, she didn't even mean to make Siyeon let that sound out, not that she didn't mind. This only fueled her to continue what she was doing, teasing Siyeon that was so close to Minji's face and wanting a kiss from her. She only kissed Siyeon's cheek, jawline, and everything that wasn't her lips.

Minji felt a grip from the back of her head, pulling her hair a little. She pulled back a little to see that Siyeon had pleading eyes on display, clearly wanting Minji to kiss her. Minji decided to stop teasing her and kissed Siyeon where she wanted it the most on.

Their lips connected and Minji felt the rush that Siyeon gave the kiss in, it was messier and faster than how they usually kissed but she didn't mind it, the both of them didn't. Minji couldn't handle it anymore, she let her hands roam around Siyeon's thigh and eventually ending up on Siyeon's bottom and giving it a squeeze. 

The action made Siyeon let out a tiny moan that she couldn't hold back. It made a fire grew bigger in Minji and made her desperate for Siyeon just like Siyeon was desperate for her. She let her mouth place kisses on Siyeon's jaw and going lower onto her neck. Siyeon wanted to pull back but she couldn't, she gave Minji a small push that made her stop.

"What's wrong? Did I do too much?"

"No, I-I want more but, not on my neck, people could see."

"Okay baby, I'll make you feel good don't worry."

Siyeon felt the outer layer of her clothing get taken off by Minji, unbuttoned a few buttons of her white dress shirt. Siyeon was shocked at her actions and swallowed a lump that was on her throat and let Minji do her work. Minji set aside the clothing that was on Siyeon, revealing her collarbone. 

Once Minji saw flesh that could be hidden by Siyeon's outfit, she sucked on the skin of Siyeon's collarbone, earning another moan that was louder than before from Siyeon. Minji loved that she was the cause of Siyeon's pleasure and moaned at the thought of it, sending vibrations on Siyeon's skin.

Minji kept kissing Siyeon's revealed collarbone and giving her hickies on hidden parts of her body, but not somewhere where it could cross the line for the both of them. Siyeon tried to compress the noises that were coming from her but failing for a couple of times, making Minji kiss her rougher accidentally and her having to hold in another moan by biting her lip.

The both of them didn't pay attention to anything, just paying attention on how the other was reacting to the actions that they were giving and given to the other person. They also didn't notice the knock from her door, and the person talking behind it.

"Siyeon! Are you there?"

Siyeon didn't notice her name getting called as she was lost in the pleasure Minji gave her from her lips and hands that were roaming around her body. Minji was the one that noticed Siyeon's name getting called. She stopped all of her actions in a split second to make sure she heard right.

Siyeon whined at the lost of contact from Minji's lips and looked at her. Minji only gave her another piercing gaze that made her shut up quickly. Turns out, Minji's ear wasn't playing tricks on her. There was someone at the door and she widened her eyes at this.

"Siyeon? You there?"

Siyeon's eyes widened and she had a look of terror on her face as she looked at Minji. She didn't know what to do until she recognized the voice calling her, there were two. The two times her name was called it was by two voices she could recognize anywhere. One was Bora, the other was Handong.

Siyeon just decided to stay silent, pretending she wasn't there. The voice spoke up again, it was Bora talking.

"Siyeon can you open up? We're bored."

Them being bored only meant that they wanted to go out, not knowing that Minji was in the room with Siyeon. She heard mumbles being thrown behind the doors and heard something.

"Guess she's not there, come on Bora let's just walk around aimlessly."

"Okay."

Then, she felt them leaving and silence taking over the situation. She exhaled and looked at Minji again, still a bit confused about the whole situation. Then the both of them laughed at it, considering that Bora was the one that was often present in ruining their moment together.

Minji let her head rest on Siyeon's chest. Siyeon still had her hand on the back of Minji's head so she caressed her hair and let Minji stay there. Minji then asked her a question.

"Do you want to continue?"

"No, it's fine. We should stop."

"And I also shouldn't be here, but here I am."

They both chuckled at Minji's remark. She wasn't even wrong though.

"I think we can stop, the whole mood is ruined."

"Yeah, I agree. By the way, what made you suddenly come sit on my lap?"

"You don't know?"

"Should I..?"

"Yes...kind of, you were staring at me with a really sharp look and it kind of made me...want more of you."

Siyeon looked down as she said that, feeling embarrassed and blush returning to her cheeks. The only thing that made her look at Minji was Minji's finget that guided her chin up. 

"Why so shy princess? I love it when I make you like this, so no need to be shy or embarrassed. You can ask for it anytime."

Siyeon only became even more shy and flustered because of Minji's words that were given to her. She knew exactly what she was doing to her and the effects that it had on her.

"Cute."

After that single word, Minji left a light peck on Siyeon's lips. One filled with love and adoration. Siyeon smiled at Minji and gave her a few pecks at the lips.

"You said that you wanted to stop, princess. Why all the kisses now?"

Siyeon only hid her face on the crook of Minji's neck and gave a few more kisses there.

"Now I'm starting to really think you want to continue."

Minji laughed at Siyeon's behavior. Siyeon then removed her face from Minji's neck and asked her something.

"I forgot to ask you, why were you staring at me like that?"

"Oh, I was thinking about what you would look like wearing your outfit for the masquerade."

"Okay, then...no dirty thoughts?"

Minji slapped Siyeon's shoulder playfully.

"Do you want me too?"

Now it was Siyeon's turn to slap Minji's shoulder.

"Maybe I do."

Minji wanted to slap Siyeon's shoulder again but held back.

"Then I'll make sure to do so next time."

"Next time?"

"You don't want me staring at you like that?"

"No, I mean yes but, you get it."

They both chuckled and Siyeon suddenly realized that she was still on Minji's lap. She tried to remove herself only to be pulled down by Minji's hands again. She gave up and let herself sit there.

"Stay on my lap, it's fine."

"You sure I'm not heavy?"

"No, why would I even think about that?"

"Alright then."

The both of them spended the rest of their time together in Siyeon's room. Minji had to leave after a few hours and as always gives a peck on Siyeon's lips before leaving. Siyeon felt butterflies in her stomach even though they had done that many times before.


	14. Masquerade

It was finally the day of the masquerade, Siyeon was waiting for Minji to come at the usual time when she would. But to no avail, she didn't appear in her room. Her mother had called her to get herself ready and prepared for the masquerade ball.

She was also worrying about Minji the entire time she had the castle's stylist get her ready. She was pulled into a different room by the stylist, not hers. That's why she was worried. not only that, her room was unlocked, meaning if Minji was there and someone was snooping in, she could get caught.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When the stylist were given a break, Siyeon approached her mother to ask her about Minji's whereabouts.

"Mother, may I please have a moment with you."

"Of course, what is it Siyeon?"

Siyeon lowered her voice and told her mother about her worries.

"Do you perhaps know where Minji is? She didn't come by my room today, and I don't know where she is."

"I'm sorry dear, I'm afraid I don't know. Let's just hope for the better, okay?"

"Okay mother."

With that, their conversation ended quickly. Siyeon sat at her seat again, waiting for the stylist to continue their work. She decided to close her eyes for a while and soon doze off.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon woke up by shaken lightly by her mother.

"Siyeon, it's time for you to get into your outfit."

"Huh? Isn't my outfit in my room?"

"Yes, but one of the maids brought it here to us. Thankfully, you kept it somewhere where it could be easily found."

"Ye-yes."

"Okay, get up now. Let's not stall anymore."

All of the drowsiness in Siyeon was immediately gone when her mother told her a maid brought her outfit there. The problem is, Minji's dress was near her outfit. Not very close with each other, but enough to be near her outfit.

She tried her best to act natural and keep her cold facade up. Thankfully, she didn't break one bit, considering she has done this almost most of her time in the castle. She couldn't help but let her mind wander off to Minji again.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Finally, she can go to her room again. She already finished getting ready and other things, now the problem was finding Minji. She arrived at her room and immediately closed her door and locked it.

She went to the spot where she hid Minji's dress and when she took a look, it was gone. It wasn't there anymore, she looked around her room trying to find it and Minji at the same time, but both weren't present.

She had to contain the urge to ruffle her hair cause she knew her mother would be upset if her hair was in a disheveled condition. She looked out her window and noticed it was getting dark, meaning that the ball was starting soon.

She couldn't do anything else anymore now and could only sit down and wait until she was called again to join the opening ceremony of the ball. She had to be at the ball room in a few moments.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

A knock came from her door and there revealed Handong waiting for her.

"Handong? What are you doing here?"

"It's time for us to go to the ballroom, I was told to pick you up by your mother. Come on."

"Alright, let's go."

They both linked their arms together and walked down the hall, heading to the ballroom. Siyeon can't help but imagine if it was Minji that was linking arms with her. The one that she could choose to dance with later, but all of that couldn't happen since Minji wasn't there.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They both arrived and Siyeon was immediately called by her mother to greet some of the guest that were there. She was getting bored at some point and tried to find her friends. Unfortunately, she couldn't find them. 

She felt like that day, all her luck had been taken out of her body. She wanted nothing more than to just lay down, curled beside Minji, hands on her waist, head on her chest, legs tangled up. She smiled a little bit at the thought of that.

They party was about to begin in a few minutes but her mother had called her once again to greet another guest, she had to hold herself back from rolling her eyes to the back of her head since she didn't want to deal with another old man trying to show off his son for her.

But what had welcomed her was something different, something that was the complete opposite than what she imagined in her head. She had let jaws fall down a bit as she looked at the person in front of her.

It was Minji, she was in the dress that was once in her room, wearing her mask and stunning Siyeon with how amazing she looked. If Siyeon didn't know she was someone from the town, she would've thought she was the daughter of a king. 

Minji didn't think too differently from Siyeon, she thought that Siyeon looked too handsome in her outfit. Her mask made an alluring aura surrounding her, Minji thought she was about to fall for the younger all over again.

The both of them stood there in front of each other, not saying a single word from their mouths. Siyeon's mother was the one who broke the silence between them with a loud cough. The both of them turned their heads towards her.

"I'll leave you two alone now."

With that, Siyeon's mother left the both of them together. Siyeon didn't know why, but she was becoming shy again because of Minji. She looked down at her feet to avoid Minji's gaze.

"Well, it's nice to see you, Siyeon."

Hearing Minji speak, she perked her head up.

"You look great in your outfit, I think the black and gold concept was a good choice," Minji said.

"Uhm, th-thank you. You look absolutely amazing and stunning."

"Thank you."

"I thought you weren't going to come. I waited for you for a while and you didn't show up at my room."

"Sorry about that, when I entered your room you weren't there. Your mother was, she told me to follow her and she got me ready for the whole thing."

"She did? Then I'll have to thank her a million times."

Siyeon extended her arms a bit, enough to welcome Minji so they could link arms together. They walked to the crowds of people that were there and accidentally ran into Bora with another person at her side.

"Siyeon? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me Bora. Who's the person beside you?" Siyeon asked.

She speculated the person behind the mask but wanted to make sure.

"You can't tell it's me?" Yubin responded.

"I can, but I just wanted to make sure."

"What about her beside you?" Bora asked.

Minji seemed to whisper something in Siyeon's ear and Siyeon gave her a nod.

"My partner," Siyeon casually replied.

"What about-" Yubin stopped herself mid-sentence.

The four of them knew whose name almost came out of her mouth, Minji. It seems that they didn't know Minji would appear in the masquerade so they never gave it a thought.

Bora threw her a confused glare while Yubin were throwing daggers with her eyes. Siyeon didn't want to lose and wanted to keep the game going, she only threw an egoistic smile at them. To make her seem like she's doing something bad and knows it.

Minji, who they didn't know it was her, decided to help Siyeon with game and snuggled closer to Siyeon. Putting both of her hands on Siyeon's arm and hugging it. Bora and Yubin had to physically hold themselves back from punching Siyeon and the mysterious woman.

Minji decided to take a step further by looking around, making sure no one was paying attention to them, and kissed Siyeon's cheek. Glancing to the two people that were infront of them after finishing her action. Siyeon put her hands on Minji's waist now. They saw how Bora and Yubin was on fire and tensed up. Siyeon whispered into Minji's ear 

"Should we stop? I don't want the both of us getting beaten up by them."

"Sure, I don't think that's an ideal situation."

The both of them looked at each other and Siyeon pressed their noses together, close enough to make her lips sweep against Minji, but not to press them together. Yubin cracked her knuckles as she watched Siyeon.

"Guys, meet Minji."

The both of them had a confused look on their faces and looked at Minji once more.

"She's Minji?" Yubin questioned.

"Yes, do you guys not recognize me?" Minji spoke.

"Wait, you do sound like Minji." Bora trailed.

"It's because she is." Siyeon responded.

The both of them then started to nod their heads together and finally believed Siyeon and Minji.

"Siyeon, don't ever do that. I had to hold myself back from punching you in the face, literally." Yubin spoke.

"Sorry, it was Minji's idea," Siyeon chuckled.

The four of them discussed about other things as they let that pass them. They explained how Yubin was there and it was because she was one of the best at the training camp and her instructor decided to reward her by inviting her to the ball.

They soon part ways as the party was getting started and that only meant one thing, the ball dance was going to start soon. Siyeon already knew who she was going dance with, it wasn't even a question anymore.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon and Minji only stood at the sidelines while some of the older people than them were dancing in the middle of the ballroom. Siyeon was getting nervous, she knew that she had to go in the middle later on with someone and danced with them, thankfully it was Minji.

They had practiced ballroom dancing in their own spare time, still making a few mistakes here and there but overall, they didn't look that bad. That was what they thought.

Both Minji and Siyeon looked at the people that were dancing to examine their moves so that they wouldn't embarrass themselves when they are in the middle of the room and all eyes are on them.

Suddenly, the music died down a little and the crowd disposed, a man suddenly spoke with a loud voice that filled the entire room. He was explaining that it was time for the princess to step forward and continue the dance with a partner of her choice.

Minji gave Siyeon's hand a squeeze and gave her a small smile to encourage Siyeon. Siyeon then put on her cold facade back after giving Minji a small smile and squeezing her hand back.

Siyeon then stepped forward into the middle of the room and whispers were being thrown around a bit on why the princess was wearing a suit instead of a dress. But she didn't care, she was just being herself and she loved it.

The man that spoke with a loud voice earlier had spoken again, this time to announce that Siyeon was going to choose a dance partner of her choice. Most of the old parents that introduced their sons to her were putting on smug faces, thinking she would choose them after she gave them a fake good reaction towards their sons.

Then, Siyeon looked around. Pretending she doesn't know who'll she choose, she saw Minji looking at her with that dangerous gaze that made Siyeon go crazy. She wasn't gonna lie, her breathing hitched for a second as she saw Minji.

Without thinking any further, Siyeon had slowly approached Minji. When she was in front of her, she had asked for her hand and Minji gladly accepted her request and took it. Siyeon kissed the back of her hand and the gesture made Minji's heart flutter and people whispering again.

Siyeon slowly pulled Minji away from the crowd and put one of her hands on Minji's waist and the other holding one of Minji's hands and Minji put her one of her hands on Siyeon's shoulder.

The music that was low now went back up to its original volume and that was a cue for Siyeon and Minji to dance. They kept looking at each other for comfort for the both of them, as this was new for them.

They danced gracefully earning a few expressions of surprises as they didn't know that any of this would happen. It was new for all of them, not just Minji and Siyeon.

The dance had actually ended faster than the both of them expected, either that or time flies by so quickly. They ended their dance and received claps from the people that were present there. 

Siyeon let herself smile just this once in front of other people only because Minji was there, and Minji was the only one she was smiling for. Minji, of course couldn't help but smile back at Siyeon.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

The party lasted for another while and both Minji and Siyeon grew bored of it. The only thing that was keeping Siyeon there and didn't leave right away was Minji. She loved the older girl so much, she could be with her while doing nothing and still be happy.

Another thing that was keeping her in the party was Minji again, but with how she looked that night. Even though she had a mask on, she was still very beautiful. The dress that she was wearing was also beautiful on her, Siyeon felt herself staring at Minji a couple of times but not get caught by her.

Minji was insecure, it was her first time being in a party like this. She never once dreamed of entering the castle, attending a grand party in it, having a ball dance with the princess, and falling in love with the princess and have her feelings reciprocated.

The pair stayed beside each other the entire time, they knew if they separated, both would get uncomfortable very quickly and the amount of people that attended the party would make it even harder for them to find each other again.

Both of them were incredibly bored now and wanted to leave the party as soon as they can. Minji was the first to voice it out.

"Siyeon, can we just sneak out or something? I don't like being here."

"I don't like being here either, I wanna get out too."

"Do you have an idea in mind? Maybe somewhere more private and quieter?"

An idea popped into Siyeon's head and knew exactly where they would get that. She just didn't know if Minji would like the place very much.

"Siyeon? Baby, do you have a plan?"

"I do, just come follow me."

Minji followed Siyeon as the went outside of the castle going the garden, Minji thought that that was their destination but Siyeon kept walking forward while holding onto Minji's hand, guiding her.

Depending on the lighting, Minji thought that the section they were heading was the deeper side of the garden that people barely visited. She was a bit scared but she trusted Siyeon more, so she kept on following where she was headed. 

Siyeon then finally came to a stop, she took a quick glance at Minji then started to push a part of the bushes there. Minji was confused at first and wanted to ask until she saw that it was a door. Siyeon opened it and let Minji go through first, after they entered, Siyeon closed the door again.

The moonlight pierced through the trees and onto the secret garden, it made the scene more beautiful than it really is. Minji took slow steps into the garden and looked around the garden, taking it in. They took of their mask and kept it somewhere else.

Siyeon suddenly came from behind Minji and gave her a back hug. 

"Is this place good enough?"

"Siyeon, are you serious? I would prefer this over that party a million times."

"That's good to hear."

"How did you find this place?"

"I was walking around the garden not really caring where I was headed and suddenly found this place. No one else knows about this place except for me and you now."

"It's beautiful, really. It makes me relaxed."

"I'm glad it does, come on let's sit."

Siyeon took Minji's hand and lead them to sit at the little architecture that was in the secret garden. Siyeon had cleaned it every time she came by and it made it not a very bad place for them to sit at.

Minji still couldn't believe that this was actually happening, that all of this was real. She then took a look at the girl that was in front of her, she was beautiful, she was kind, loving, and everything she couldn't imagine be in one person.

She kept on staring at Siyeon lovingly, nothing but love and affection in her eyes. The younger girl had seemed to notice Minji staring at her again, this time a different look that was given to her. She smiled as she saw the older girl.

The both of them noticed that they were staring at each other now, a comfortable silence surrounding the atmosphere. Minji was the first one to speak up and stand up, making Siyeon follow her actions.

Minji got closer to Siyeon only to pull her in by her waist, she still held her gaze with Siyeon while doing so.

"I love you," Minji breathed out.

"I love you too."

"God, I love you so much that no words could express them Siyeon. I love you so much my actions still wouldn't be enough to show you. I love you so much that everyday I hope to always have you by my side, that you won't be taken away from me."

"Minji...you know I won't let that happen."

"I know, I know, but I just can't help my thoughts sometimes. I feel so happy being around you and having you in my life, I just want to make you feel the same happiness that you give me."

Siyeon stayed silent letting Minji continue, she just pressed their foreheads together and closing her eyes, Minji doing the same.

"I'm just, just I'm scared about what people will say about you if they found out. I'm scared of you being hurt because of me. I'm scared of losing you, Siyeon."

Minji sniffled silently but enough for Siyeon to hear, she quickly opened her eyes to see a tear falling on Minji's cheek. She carefully brought her hand up to wipe the tear away, kissing her cheeks after.

"Please don't ever think that you'll lose me Minji. Even if fate doesn't want us together, I'll make sure to push through it just to be with you, I'll fight anyone or anything that tries to take you away from me."

Siyeon inhaled and exhaled for a short moment to gather herself.

"Minji, I love you okay? Trust me, you make me the happiest person in the whole world when I'm with you. You make me feel like I'm at home when I'm with you, I feel that I belong to you. I know I belong to you. You've made me feel so many things I never thought I could've felt in my life, you changed everything in my life. I love you so much Minji. I will never leave your side even if I wanted to."

Siyeon couldn't hold it in anymore and let a tear escape, Minji pulled her into a deep kiss that they both needed. The kiss held many emotions they both wanted to show but couldn't, Siyeon lets herself melt into Minji's touch. 

The kiss felt a bit salty due to their tears that were falling on their cheeks but none of that mattered as the only thing they focused on was each other. They were each other's safe haven.

They let themselves go from the kiss and stayed in the same position, holding each other in their arms. They whispered a bunch of "I love you's" and other comforting words.

They spend more time at their secret garden until they decided that it was time for them to head back. They cleaned themselves up and sneakily went into Siyeon's room and cleaned themselves up properly this time.

Minji changed into some of Siyeon's outfits and laid in bed with Siyeon, they were both facing each other until Siyeon wanted to turn around and wanted Minji to wrap her loving arms around her.

She felt Minji's front come in contact with back, Minji's arm going around Siyeon's waist, and legs tangling up. Siyeon felt herself move backwards to get closer with Minji and held Minji's protective hand over her waist. Feeling herself slowly closing her eyes and Minji doing the same. They soon fell asleep rather quickly for the night. 


	15. Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for not posting a chapter after a while, writer's block is horrible.  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
> (There's gonna be some smut btw)

Siyeon woke up feeling an arm hugging her waist and warm breathing on the back of her neck. She turned around to see Minji still sleeping peacefully. She brushed some of her hair that was covering her face and admired her beauty.

She came closer to Minji and snuggled towards her by putting her head on the crook of Minji's neck and also putting an arm on Minji's waist. She closed her eyes again and made herself comfortable and relaxed.

Siyeon felt Minji stir in her sleep and the hand on her waist tightening, she looked up to see that Minji had lazily opened her eyes and looked at Siyeon while giving her a lazy smile. Siyeon smiled at the view.

"Good morning," Minji said, her voice was kind of croaky.

"Good morning," Siyeon's voice was in the same condition.

Minji held Siyeon closer to her and closed her eyes again.

"Did I wake you up?" Siyeon said.

"No but yes, it's fine though."

"If you say so."

"It only gives me more time to cuddle with you anyways."

Siyeon smiled at her words, wanting nothing more than that. She felt like the problems that were in her head disappeared when she was with Minji. 

"I love you."

"I know, I love me too."

"What?"

"I'm just kidding, I love you too."

"When do you have to go back?"

"I can come back whenever I want."

"Good, unfortunately I want to be selfish and have you all for myself."

Minji let out a small laugh at Siyeon's words and only held her closer, not before giving Siyeon a small kiss that leaves Siyeon wanting for more. Siyeon chased Minji's lips but was only hit by air.

She realized Minji didn't see what she was doing as she kept her eyes closed, therefore not giving Siyeon the kiss she wanted. Siyeon had an idea in her head and decided to act upon it.

She decided to straddle Minji and Minji opened her eyes as she felt Siyeon sitting on her. She sat up and straighten herself up to pull Siyeon closer. Siyeon looked at her intensely and Minji was surprised at first but copied her expression soon.

She left her hands on Siyeon's thigh and Siyeon had her hands on Minji's shoulder. Minji almost kissed Siyeon but when she wanted to, Siyeon beat her to it by kissing her neck. Clearly having intentions to mark her. But stopped for a bit after only kissing it a couple of times.

"Can I-"

"You can."

Siyeon was surprised at Minji's quick answer but didn't mind it on bit. She got back at what she was doing and kept kissing Minji's neck while also using her tongue and occasional bites.

Her actions left Minji feeling satisfied as she let out a few sounds of moans that she held back. She kept kissing different parts of Minji's neck and went to a different one that made Minji louder than she was.

Siyeon increased the intensity of her kissing on that particular spot and Minji kept having to silently moan everytime she kissed her there, her hands were gripping onto Siyeon's thigh rougher now and it made Siyeon moan into her skin.

When she thought she had abused Minji's skin enough she looked at her artwork. A few hickeys here and there and Minji breathing heavily, she smirked looking at Minji like that.

Minji saw that confident smirk Siyeon had on her face and decided to act against it. She switched their position and Minji was on top of Siyeon now, the smirk that was on Siyeon's face disappeared and made one on Minji appear.

Minji held Siyeon's hands above her head and stared to kiss Siyeon roughly on the lips and went lower as she did.

"Can I-"

"Please."

Minji was shocked at Siyeon's answer as she answered quickly and it sounded more like a whine than how Siyeon would usually talk. But Minji didn't protest against it and only fueled her up more.

She kissed on Siyeon's neck and sucked on it while still holding Siyeon's hands above her head. She didn't know why but there was something about Siyeon at that moment that made her dark side want to come out more.

She kissed on Siyeon harder than she should and Siyeon let out a yelp. Minji stopped her actions when she heard that and released Siyeon's hand.

"Did I do something wrong? Did I go to far?"

"No, no, you didn't. It was just a bit unexpected but I liked it."

"You did..?"

"Yes, please continue."

Minji kissed Siyeon on her lips again and went to her neck as time passed. She marked her neck a few times then went to her collarbone again to abuse the skin.

When she thought that it was enough she stopped, before she would go to far. She kissed Siyeon's lips for the last time and then admired her. Siyeon was still breathing hard from Minji's previous actions and still had her eyes half open.

Minji let one of her hands rest on Siyeon's cheek and drew little circles on it, Siyeon immediately melted into her touch and closed her eyes again. Minji then got off of Siyeon and laid down beside her.

She hugged Siyeon's side again and Siyeon turned to look at Minji. They both looked at each other and just admired each other, it was a view that both of them wanted to see every morning and would never get tired of.

"I wanna sleep again, come here," Minji asked.

Siyeon immediately followed Minji's command and went to snuggle with her again. She rest her head on Minji's chest again and felt Minji's hand keeping her in place. She listened to Minji's calm breathing and sometimes could hear her heartbeat as well.

She followed Minji's breathing pattern unconsciously and started to close her eyes as well. She felt herself getting sleepier and soon lost consciousness and went to sleep again.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

1 year later

Today was Minji's birthday, Siyeon already thought about what she was going to give Minji and already planned to go to her house with Bora and Handong, they all had their presents ready.

Siyeon decided she would dress up a little bit more but hid it under another layer of clothing that she would wear. She told Bora and Handong about it when they were getting ready in the morning.

"I think I might wear something a little different."

"How different? And why would you do that?" Bora asked.

"Because I have someone to impress, but I'm gonna hide my outfit under my disguise."

Bora and Handong raised an eyebrow towards Siyeon.

"You planning on giving her a surprise?" Handong said.

"You can say that."

The three of them got ready and left the castle heading towards Minji's house. They had their gifts in hand and were chatting during their walk to her house.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They finally arrived at her house and knocked, the door was opened by Yoohyeon and she immediately invited them in and told them to place their gifts in a specific place. Siyeon pulled Yoohyeon aside to ask her something.

"I brought my gift with me, but is it okay if I hand it to her personally?"

"Of course! It's fine, I know she's your girlfriend after all."

"Thank you."

"It's nothing."

The both of them went to the living room where their little group was present, except Yubin. When Minji locked eyes with Siyeon, she excused herself from the conversation she was having with Bora.

"How's the most beautiful person in the world doing?" Minji greeted.

"I don't know, how are you?" Siyeon hugged Minji.

Minji just chuckled at Siyeon's words and placed a quick kiss after parting from their hug. Minji then pulled Siyeon to join in with the others by her hand. They all played around with together in the living room for a while and finally brought out the cake for Minji.

They sang happy birthday to her and Minji made a wish, blew out the candles and cut the cakes for everyone to have. After they've done that, they got to the gifts.

Minji opened Bora's gift first, then Yoohyeon's, Handong's, then Gahyeon's. They all noticed that Siyeon's gift was nowhere to be seen and questioned her about it.

"I have my gift, but I want to give it to her later, personally."

"You didn't lie about not giving her a gift, right?" Gahyeon pouted.

"Of course not, I would never."

Hearing Siyeon's reply made Minji feel something, she didn't know if it was nervousness or expactation, but there was something there that made her want to ditch her birthday celebration just to be with Siyeon to find out.

They continued on with the party since Siyeon said she would be giving her present at the end of the party instead. Minji couldn't help but eye Siyeon a couple of times and accidentally locking eyes with her a few.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When they finally think that it's about time they go home in the afternoon, Siyeon asked if it was okay for Bora and Handong to leave by themselves and to cover her if anyone asked where she was and they agreed and told her no to worry.

When everyone left, Minji was cleaning the kitchen and living room (even though there wasn't that much to clean) and Siyeon approached her, hugging her from behind when she had her back faced towards Siyeon.

"Did everyone leave already?"

"Yeah, let's go to your room, I'm giving your present there."

They head into Minji's room and when they got there Siyeon took of her disguise and revealed the 'prince' attire she was talking about earlier that made Minji shocked and let out a gasp.

"What?"

"Nothing, just, that was really shocking."

"Which part?"

"All of them."

Siyeon let out a laugh and spoke again.

"I thought you liked me when I wore these clothing so I decided to wear it today."

"Thank you, I guess."

"You don't need to thank me for this, this is absolutely nothing."

"Wait, it's afternoon right now, don't you need to head back to the castle?"

"No, it's fine. I asked Bora and Handong to cover for me. But now, is time to give you your present."

"What is it?"

Siyeon opened her leather satchel that she placed on Minji's bed and took out two small boxes that she brought with her. She opened the first box which revealed a necklace and the second box that revealed two rings, one for her and one for Minji, they were promise rings.

"I didn't know which one you'd like more so I-"

Minji hugged Siyeon before she finished her sentence that almost made Siyeon drop the two boxes.

"Thank you."

"It's nothing."

Minji pulled away and gave Siyeon a kiss. After the quick kiss, Siyeon place the box with the necklace in it on Minji's bed. 

"These are promise rings, yours says forever and mine says always. I just thought I wanted to get one for us and also for your birthday present."

"Thank you again Siyeon, I don't think I can ever repay this."

Siyeon took Minji's right hand and placed the ring on her Middle finger.

"Why on my right middle finger? Usually it's on our left and ring finger."

"Because, we put our rings on ring finger when we're married and putting it on our right hand is usually for gay or lesbian couples."

Minji nodded along and took the other ring and placed it on Siyeon's right middle finger as well.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it."

Siyeon smiled and pressed a kiss on Minji's lips. But then grabbed the other box and took the necklace out of it.

"I'll put this on you."

Siyeon went behind Minji and Minji placed her hair over one of her shoulders and let Siyeon place the necklace around her neck. Once she did, she placed a kiss on Minji's neck.

"Is this another surprise that I didn't know of?"

Minji turned her head to the side to let Siyeon do more of her work. Siyeon only answered her with a hum.

"We'll see, birthday girl." 

Minji let out a quiet moan when she felt Siyeon bite her skin a little and used her tongue to increase the pleasure for Minji. 

Minji turned around after a few moments and captured Siyeon's lips when they were parted from her neck, she let her tongue enter Siyeon mouth and Siyeon moaned in the kiss. 

Minji slowly let her hands roam down and tugged on Siyeon's clothes, asking for her to take it off. Siyeon agreed immediately as she took it off but still left the white dress shirt on her. 

Minji slowly pushed Siyeon towards her bed, Siyeon felt the back of her knee touching the back of Minji's bed but quickly swapped their positions and let Minji sit on the edge of her bed and Siyeon straddling her lap. 

They continued to kiss each other and Minji started to trail her lips downwards and continued her work there. Her hands went behind Siyeon to grab her but and squeezed it, making Siyeon let out a moan. She smirked on Siyeon's skin, liking the feeling of control she had over Siyeon. 

Feeling the pleasure take over her body, Siyeon started to unconsciously rock her hips on Minji's lap. Her whole body was burning with want, with desires. She wanting to feel relieve and she wanted Minji to help her with that, she needed Minji.

"Please..." Siyeon pleaded to Minji. 

Minji stopped her work for a moment to look at Siyeon, she stopped Siyeon's movements that made her whine. 

"What is it, baby?" Minji asked. 

"Please," Siyeon looked down. 

"What do you need, princess?" Minji lifted Siyeon's chin using her finger, making Siyeon look at her. 

"I need you, Minji." 

Minji changed their position, making Siyeon laying under her on her bed. She kissed Siyeon on the lips again and slid her hand under Siyeon's dress shirt. 

Siyeon let out a moan into Minji's mouth, feeling Minji's hand going under her shirt and touching her skin. "Off," Siyeon said in between their kiss. "What?" Minji stopped for a second before kissing her again. "Take it off," Siyeon guided Minji's hand that was under her shirt to the front of her shirt where the buttons were. 

"Are you sure you want this?" 

"I'm sure." 

Minji started to unbutton Siyeon's shirt while still keeping eye contact with her. The look that Minji had on her face made a familiar heat appear in a lower part of Siyeon's body. 

Once all the buttons were off, Minji raised herself a little bit to let her eyes take over Siyeon's body. She noticed that Siyeon was covering herself a little bit, getting insecure with her body showing to Minji. Minji lowered herself again to Siyeon's body, kissing it, while also pinning her hands beside Siyeon's head. 

"You're so beautiful, princess," Minji kept kissing Siyeon's body while proving her point. 

She went up and kissed Siyeon's neck again, and also pressing her thigh on Siyeon center, making her squirm and moan in place. 

Minji was kissing Siyeon's neck and found her pulse that made Siyeon moan louder than usual. When she heard that, she kept kissing and biting the skin there, wanting to hear more of Siyeon's moans. She wanted to hear Siyeon like this because of her and only her.

Minji felt Siyeon rocking on her thigh again and decided to help her by slowly putting pressure on her core, making Siyeon moan loudly again. Minji herself, started to feel something warm in her own core and felt herself getting wet only from hearing and seeing Siyeon.

Minji's kiss started to go lower again and started to kiss Siyeon's body again and marking her. She wanted to remind Siyeon of who she belonged to.

Minji was still pinning Siyeon's hands when Siyeon suddenly tried to free herself from her grip. Minji felt Siyeon trying to get her hands out of her grasp and let go off her hands, she was about to ask Siyeon if she did something wrong when Siyeon stopped her by putting her hands Minji's clothes and tugged on them. She immediately understood what she meant and got up and took of her clothing.

Siyeon let her eyes rake over Minji's body and her hands started to roam on her body as well. She thought that Minji was perfect, everything about her was perfect. Minji got down again only to have her position switched, Siyeon was now on top of her and Minji was below her.

Siyeon kissed Minji's neck and continuing to grind her core against Minji's lap to gain more pleasure. She started to grind faster now and increased the intensity of her kisses on Minji. The moans that Minji were making fueled her to keep doing what she was doing. All of that lasted for a moment until their position was turned again.

On top of her was Minji that had half-lidded eyes looking at her and had uneven breaths with very visible hickeys on her skin. The sight turned on Siyeon more than she thought it could. One of Minji's hand that was on either side of Siyeon's head went down her body and getting closer to the place where it needed her attention the most. She did it while still keeping eye contact with Siyeon.

Siyeon felt Minji's hand cupping her heat and the action made Siyeon lift her hips up to get some friction of off it, making her whine as well. Siyeon's hand went to Minji's to guide it to the button of her pants. Minji complied with her and unbuttoned it.

Minji slid her hand inside of Siyeon's pants but teased her by not putting it inside her underwear. She could feel that Siyeon was soaked through and the feeling made her smirk, Siyeon started to squirm and whine but only ending up moaning again when Minji pressed her hand against her and her clit accidentally rubbing harsher than before. Her back arched and she moaned louder while her hips jerked, wanting to feel more of what she had just experienced.

"Fuck!" That was Siyeon's reaction to what just happened to her. 

"What's wrong, baby?" 

"M-More," Siyeon pleaded. 

"Don't worry, baby. I'll give you what you want." 

Minji pushed Siyeon's underwear aside and let her fingers glide over Siyeon's heat and made her jerk her hips once more and whined again. She then moved her hands to go inside of Siyeon's underwear and started to rub circles on her clit, earning more moans from Siyeon.

She started to kiss Siyeon on the lips again while still having her hand down Siyeon's pants. The way Siyeon's hips jerk, the sounds she makes, how uneven her breathing is, and the way her back arches made Minji go crazy at every passing second. She rubbed her clit faster now and felt Siyeon's moan getting louder and knew that she was close. Her nails kept scratching Minji's back, leaving marks on it.

"I-I think I'm close, Minji, k-keep going please." Siyeon could barely think anymore as she spoke that sentence.

"Fuck, I don't plan on stopping, babygirl."

Siyeon shut her eyes while she felt a knot building up in her stomach, her back was arching onto Minji's front, Minji's went back to kissing on Siyeon's body again trying to make her girlfriend feel good. 

Then, Siyeon finally felt it. She screamed Minji's name as she felt waves of pleasure hit her. Minji kept rubbing her clit in circles to make the pleasure last longer for her and slowly stopping.

Minji kissed Siyeon again on the lips, both breathing heavily from the action they just did. Once they parted, Minji got off of Siyeon and laid beside her.

"Well, that was definitely an experience," Siyeon started off.

"Yeah, you tired?"

"I don't really know about that but I'm definitely overwhelmed."

"Can you stay the night?"

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be okay."

"Alright, let's just cuddle until we fall asleep."

"But you didn't get anything though?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I mean, from before. It's your birthday and all, but you didn't get anything."

Minji came closer to Siyeon and cupped her cheeks.

"Siyeon, seeing you like that was already something. And besides, I wanted to give it to you anyways, and I'm fine."

"Okay."

"Now, let's cuddle."

Siyeon snuggled into Minji after grabbing the blankets to cover them. They talked every once in a while. But, after one of them fell asleep, the other followed after waiting for a few minutes.


	16. Thoughts

Minji woke up and stirred a little bit but stopping midway when she noticed that Siyeon was still cuddled on her and asleep. She tried not to wake her up by moving a lot, she went back to her previous position slowly and cuddled Siyeon again.

She started to caress Siyeon's hair and softly kissed the crown of her head. She sighed as she liked the atmosphere in that moment, it was just the two of them and the silence was pleasing for her.

She yawned again when she suddenly felt sleepy and wanting to go to sleep again. She thought why not go back to sleep again and so she did. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon woke up a few moments after Minji fell asleep. She saw that Minji was still sleeping and she smiled fondly at her, even though she wouldn't see her doing so. She stayed silent as she let herself get drifted with her thoughts, a habit of hers.

Siyeon started to think how her life would be like if she was born as a normal person from the town. Would she have met Minji before her parents opened the new bakery, or would have she not met Minji at all. She frowned at the thought of not having Minji in her life.

She tried to change the topic in her mind and started to think about how her future would be like with Minji. They would take care of each other in their home, growing old together, being there in each other's side. She smiled again, wanting everything good to happen for the both of them. She wanted to be happy with Minji.

But she knew that not everything in life would go her way, her smile turned sad as she looked at Minji. If her parents won't approve of her relationship with Minji, everything would break for her. If she left, the kingdom wouldn't have someone to take over. If she stayed, she woudn't be able to see Minji again, who knows what they'll do to her after finding out they've been in a relationship for a few years.

Even if they approved of their relationship, would everything be okay then? It would cause a huge controversy as there had been no one in her family that was like her. Would she be able to marry Minji? Grow old with her? Be happy with her?

Her smile had already disappeared and tears were already running down her face, she didn't want to lose Minji. She didn't want to live without her, it would be impossible for her to do so. After all the time they've spent together, all the memories of each other that they have of each other, she didn't want to let all of that go. She didn't want to let Minji go.

She bit her lip as she tried to not let any sound out and tried to hold back the tears that were running on her face. She closed her eyes and tried to compose herself and tried to no wake Minji up in any sort of way, she didn't want her to see her like this, she was a mess. She wanted to leave yet stay at the same time, she loved and hated this moment at the same time.

So much for trying to change the topic, she thought. She laughed bitterly and closed her eyes, she tried going back to sleep and hope that it will all go away.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Minji woke up again after feeling something wet on crook of her neck. She opened her eyes to see that Siyeon was crying and sniffing and she instantly woke up and became worried of Siyeon.

"Siyeon, what's wrong?"

Siyeon opened her eyes and perked her head up to see that Minji was awake. She immediately erased her tears using her hand and tried to act normal.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"Siyeon, you and I know that crying isn't just nothing. You can talk to me, you know that right?"

"I do, but it's fine. I don't want to bother you."

"You're not bothering me Siyeon, it's completely fine. But, if you don't feel comfortable talking about it then I understand."

Minji gave a small smile to Siyeon but Siyeon didn't miss the glimpse of worry and concern in Minji's eyes.

"I'm just worried about the future. I can't help but to think about the worse, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Siyeon. You have no reason to be sorry at all."

"I'm really scared of losing you, Minji. I wish I didn't have the title of a Princess, I wish I was just normal like you. I wish I didn't have to take over the kingdom when I have to."

"Would you have met me if you were born here?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's a chance we wouldn't even meet at all if you were born here. Would you still trade that for a normal life?" 

"No! I mean, no. I would never trade with something that doesn't have you in it."

"Even if you can't have a life like the people in the town?"

"Yes."

Minji enveloped Siyeon into a hug. 

"I know it's hard Siyeon and I don't know what I can say or do to make you feel better, but I can say that I'll stay by your side. No matter what, okay?"

Siyeon only answered with a nod and held Minji tighter.

But, their moment was quickly ruined by a knock on Minji's door.

"Minji? We're going to leave soon, are you coming?"

Minji and Siyeon's eyes went wide, Minji completely forgot that her parents were home. She quickly answered her mother trying to sound as "okay" as possible.

"U-Uhm, I think I might not go today. I feel a bit sick."

"You are? Do you want us to grab you some medicine?"

"No, it's fine. A little rest is all I need."

"Okay, me and your father are going to leave now."

"Okay, have a safe trip."

They heard her footsteps slowly disappearing and the sound of a door opening and closing. Siyeon let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in. 

"Thank god we didn't get caught," Siyeon said when she felt relieved.

"Yup, I can only imagine the explaining that we have to do."

They were silent for a short amount of time until Siyeon got curious of something.

"By the way, do your parents know that we're together?"

"I haven't told them yet, but I'm pretty sure they know."

"If they do, would they accept us?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure they would."

"That's good to hear I guess."

"Also, does your mother knows about us?"

"Yes, but she figured it out herself. Thankfully, she was fine with it. I just don't know how my father will react," Siyeon mumbled the last part to herself but Minji caught it.

"Your father?"

"You heard?"

"Was I not supposed to?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Just scared."

Minji didn't know how she should respond Siyeon's words. She couldn't, because she wasn't in the same shoes as Siyeon.

"Let's hope it'll all turn out well for the both of us," Siyeon said.

When she finished her sentence, she kissed Minji's lips and Minji replied almost immediately. 

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon was leaving Minji's house now since she had to back before anything unwanted happens. She almost forgot she had to go back, because of that she sprinted her way to the castle.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After she arrived, she immediately took off her disguise and hid it. She took some fresh clothes and got into her shower to clean herself after sweating a lot from her running. 

As she was taking her clothing of, she saw the ring on her finger and a smile secretly creeped up on her face. Siyeon herself didn't even notice that she was smiling like an idiot.

Her memories took her back to when she was at Minji's house. She remembered the smile and look of surprise that was on Minji's face, it made a warm feeling in her chest appear. She took of the ring and carefully placed it somewhere else, then she got in the shower.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After she finished showering, she dried herself and put in her outfit of the day and not forgetting to put on her ring as well. After that, she wanted outside and look for either Bora or Handong to ask if there was anything that went wrong.

However, when she wanted to go outside of her room, Bora and Handong already knocked her door. When she heard their voices calling her, she opened up her door and let them inside.

The first thing that Bora got when she saw Siyeon was a surprise. Handong was confused at Bora's reaction but suddenly became surprised as well when she took another look at Siyeon. Bora suddenly locked the door and pulled the other two to sit down on Siyeon's bed.

"You are not going out of your room like this," Bora sternly said.

"I agree, try not to go outside of your room today," Handong joined.

Confused by their words, Siyeon decided to ask.

"Why?"

"Have you not looked in the mirror?" Handong asked back.

"I have."

"And you didn't notice anything weird? Anything out of the ordinary?" Bora followed.

"Can you guys just tell me what's wrong?" Siyeon felt like she was missing out on something.

"You definitely had fun last night," Bora suddenly said.

Siyeon's eyes went wide and she immediately remembered her time with Minji last night. She blushed as she got flustered and embarrassed. 

"Remember now?" Bora asked again.

"Shut up, how could I forget. But what does that have to do with us right now?"

"You should take a look at your neck," Handong said.

Siyeon went to her mirror and lost her words when she saw the hickeys that were visible on her neck, she was definitely not going outside today.

"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere outside of my room."

"Good idea," Bora said.

"Anyways, did anything go wrong while I was out?"

"No, we got it covered for you. We said you wanted to be alone and everyone just nodded and didn't ask," Handong explained.

"Okay, thanks guys."

"No problem," the two of them said.

Bora and Handong left after a while with Bora teasing Siyeon and her having to survive Bora and Handong whem she randomly joined in on the teasing.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Thankfully, Siyeon was once again allowed and wasn't questioned on why she didn't have dinner with the rest like usual. She had dinner alone while thinking about Minji.

She thought back on when she first started to sneak out. She said to herself that she would only leave the castle if only there was something worth much more than the riches that she receive, more than the title she would receive.

Now, she finally found that something, that someone. Minji was everything to her and she would choose her over everything in a heartbeat. She made Siyeon feel so many emotions that she didn't even know and she thought she could never feel.

Minji was definitely worth much more than gold, than crowns, than power, than a whole kingdom that she would receive. She decided she would leave everything for her. And she will if she was left with no other option.


	17. Trepidation

2 weeks later

She knew that this time would come but why was she still feeling so many overwhelming emotions. 

Her father and mother had asked one of the guards to call Siyeon since they had something to talk about together. It was something important and Siyeon could feel it since her father doesn't call her in the middle of nowhere out of sudden.

She can't help but feel nervous at what was about to unfold. She tried to stay as calm as she possibly could as she was getting closer to her father and mother's throne.

She bowed to them when she was standing in front of them and waited for what was about to be said by the both of them. She looked at her mother to figure out what was going on but she received her mother looking at her like she was feeling sorry.

She broke the small eye contact she had with her mother and looked at her father.

"What is it, father?"

"We all know that you'll be taking over the kingdom soon and you will need someone to rule by your side."

Siyeon tried to control her expressions since she knew where all of this was leading.

"I will be calling a few princes from other kingdoms for you to meet. I expect that you get along with at least one of them."

"What if I don't get along or like any of them, father?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Why can't I choose who I want to marry?"

"If you can the who will you choose? The only people that you know and are close to are just Kim Bora and Handong."

"Then I'll find someone who I can truly love."

"And how will you do that?"

Siyeon stayed silent since she didn't know what to say. She wanted to tell her father that she has been sneaking out the castle for years now and found someone she loves. But, she was also scared of doing that, she didn't know what her father would do to her and Minji if he knows.

"I asked you a question, Siyeon. If you find a way then maybe we could discuss this matter and make a few differences in it."

Siyeon made up her mind after hearing her father's words.

"I already fell for someone, father."

Her father had a confused expression on his face and an intimidating look as well.

"Is that so? Then, how does that person feel about your feelings towards them?"

"They reciprocated those feelings, father. And not just because of my title or anything else, it was because it was me."

"Who is it?"

"A simple baker from the town."

Her father widen his eyes when he heard her say those words.

"Excuse me? From the town?"

"Yes, I have been sneaking out of the castle for years now and I fell in love with someone a few years ago. At that time, they didn't know I was even the princess or anything near it. We both fell for each other without her knowing that I'm the princess or that I have mountains of gold."

"I want to meet this person. Bring them to me in three more days, I expect them to be someone worthy of you."

"Do not worry, father. I can assure you that they are more than worthy."

"You may leave now."

Siyeon bowed down once again to her father and was walking towards the door but stopped when her father said something else.

"I assume you will go to the town to meet them, am I right?"

She turned around to answer her father.

"Yes, that is correct."

"Well, you are allowed to go out through the front door and not where you usually exit. I assume that it'll be more comfortable."

"Yes, father. If you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving now."

Her father only nodded to her. She walked out and started to head to her room and getting ready to go out again. She used her disguise clothing and that made her earn a few stares from some of the people that worked in the castle.

She finally went out of the castle, trying not to attract that many attention. She then made her way to the bakery.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When she entered the bakery, she didn't even get the chance to look for Minji when she already went up to her and hugged her tightly. She seemed exited and happy, Siyeon thought about telling her about what her father said another day so that she could keep that happiness for the day.

"I'm sorry for surprising you, I have some news," Minji apologized.

"It's fine, let's sit down first, shall we?"

The both of them sat down and Siyeon asked Minji to continue what she wanted to say.

"So, my parents was planning on making a new bakery. And the earnings from this one was enough to open another one."

Siyeon thought to herself that she might know where this was going to go.

"And they told me they trusted me enough to make the bakery mine! That means I'm finally going to open a bakery of my own!"

Minji squeezed Siyeon's hands and Siyeon gave Minji the best smile that she could let out, which wasn't as bright as Minji's. Minji noticed Siyeon's behaviour and asked her about it.

"Siyeon, are you okay? Did something happen?"

"Yes, a lot of things happened back in the castle."

"What happened? You can talk to me about it."

"I have to talk to you about it."

"What do you mean?"

"They know, about us."

"Who? your parents?"

"Yes."

"Your mother already knew about it for a while, but how did your father find out? And how did he react?"

"I told him."

"What?"

"I had to, it was the only way for me to be with you. If I didn't tell him about it, I would've been told to marry some other prince. I'm sorry."

"How did he take it?"

"He was surprised. About the fact that I was in love and that I've been sneaking out of the castle for years now. There was another thing he told me, and it included you."

"What does he want from me?"

"He wanted to meet you in three more days."

"Is that a bad thing or good thing?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry, Minji."

"No, no, it's fine. You had tell him sooner or later."

Siyeon couldn't help but feel guilty for telling her father about their secret relationship without letting Minji know. 

"Anything else?"

"No."

Minji only nodded her head and silence filled the both of them. It was only until Minji said something that it broke the awful silence between them.

"Do you think my parents deserve to know too now?"

"I don't know, it's up to you if you want to tell them or not."

"I think they have to know, if they suddenly got called by the king without knowing anything, it would be bad."

"Okay."

"I'll tell them later when the bakery will close. I think you should be there."

"I'll be there."

Minji didn't know what to say anymore and neither did Siyeon. Part of Minji wanted to leave Siyeon and distract herself with work but part of her wanted to stay with her.

"Should I leave? I can come back later when I have to."

"No, stay."

Minji surprised herself and Siyeon with her fast answer. Guess she wanted Siyeon to stay.

"Do you want to go to my house? We can just stay and hang out there instead of here."

"Are you allowed?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

"Okay, I'll wait for you outside."

"Okay."

The both of them stood up with Siyeon heading outside and Minji taking of her apron and excusing herself to her parents. She went out after getting approval from them.

"Let's go," Minji held Siyeon's hand.

"Okay."

The both of them walked hand in hand and talked to each other normally again after Siyeon cracking up some jokes to Minji to lift the atmosphere between them.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They entered Minji's house and immediately went into Minji's room to cuddle, like how the usually do when they have nothing to do there. Siyeon snuggled up into Minji after laying in her bed together.

They let their legs get tangled and Minji let her hand rest on Siyeon's waist while Siyeon clingled to Minji. Minji looked down to steal a peck from Siyeon's lips. She giggled a little when Siyeon got surprised from her action.

Siyeon pulled herself up to kiss Minji, to which she replied happily. But, Minji broke it since she wanted to say something.

"Wait, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"If your parents accepts us, what will happen then?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

Minji kissed Siyeon again. 

"

Stop saying sorry."

Minji continued to kiss Siyeon for a while, making both of them breathless with every kiss that was given. After a while, they stopped and laid in silence while embracing each other.

They spent the rest of their time in Minji's house. They stayed there because they wanted to be together and also waited for night to come so they could talk with Minji's parents.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They were both nervous while walking to the bakery. They saw that the bakery was just closing by the time they got there. Minji's parents wasn't seen outside so they went in to find them.

Her mother was behind the counter while her father was in the kitchen. When they saw that the break room was empty, they decided to have a talk there.

Minji called her parents while she told Siyeon to stay in the break room. Her parents were confused on why they were called but followed Minji nonetheless. 

They sat down quietly and let Siyeon and Minji talk since they were the ones that called them.

"So, we have to tell you something," Minji started off.

"It's about me," Siyeon followed.

"What is it? Is there something wrong?" Minji's mother asked.

Siyeon started to get anxious and started to hold and pinch Minji's hand. Minji held her hand tighter as a sign of comfort.

"I am actually the princess."

"What do you mean by that?" This time, it was Minji's father that asked.

"I am the daughter of the king and queen and will be inheriting the throne soon," Siyeon stated.

"Siyeon, is this a joke? Are you and Minji up to something?" Minji's mother spoke.

"She's not joking, Mom. Neither am I. We think that it was about time that both of you knew."

"Oh, then," Minji's father bowed slightly, not knowing what to say.

Siyeon's eyed widen and started to say no's that weren't countable. She definitely felt uncomfortable now.

"There's no need for that sir. Please, I don't feel comfortable when people do that."

"I'm sorry, princess."

"Please, sir. Just treat like how you did usually."

"Alright then. Is there something else we need to know?"

Minji and Siyeon looked at each other, questioning if they should say that Minji was told to come to meet the king in three more days. They nodded their head, agreeing.

"I'm going to meet the king in three more days, he asked me to come."

Her parents were surprised.

"Why?" Her father asked.

"Her parents found out about our relationship when she was planned to be getting married with other people."

"What're they gonna do?"

"I don't know yet, father."

"Siyeon, I trust you with my daughter. And if she gets hurt in any way possible, know that you'll be dealing with me. Even if you're a princess or anything else."

"Don't worry, sir. I will do anything in my power to keep her away from danger."

After having to talk with Minji's parents, they both parted ways and left to go to their own houses. Siyeon still went with her hidden passage since she was so used to it.

After entering her room, she took a shower and got changed. Not bothering to eat or do anything else. Minji's father's words came to her mind, it made her get scared. She hoped that nothing will go wrong in their meeting or in the future. 

After being awake for a while, she finally got sleepy and slowly drift off to sleep. She had nightmares that night.


	18. Comfort

It was the day of Minji meeting Siyeon's father. Minji borrowed a dress from Siyeon to look more suitable for the occasion. The people that were present in the room was the king, queen, Siyeon, Minji, and a couple of guards.

A tense silence was filling the room. It was clear that both Minji and Siyeon was intimidated and uncomfortable in the room, they kept passing each other sneaky glances.

"So, you're a girl," Minji's father stated.

"Yes, your majesty."

"How did you make my daughter fall in love with you? With what trick did you do so?"

"Father, she didn't trick me-"

"I asked her, Siyeon. Be quiet."

"I-I didn't trick her into anything, your majesty."

"I suggest for you to be honest, how could my daughter love a simple baker. We all know that there are better people out there."

"Father-"

Siyeon's father suddenly got up from his throne and slapped Siyeon.

"What did I tell you? Be quiet. And I'm disappointed in who you chose."

Siyeon's father then walked back to his throne.

"Lock this woman up, how dare she seduce my daughter."

When they heard his words, worry filled their eyes. Two guards approached Minji and held both her arms. Siyeon didn't just stand there, she hit one of the guards then kicked the other. 

"Guards!"

Five more came, there wasn't even a little bit of fear in Siyeon's eyes. The only fear was Minji being taken away. She faught the other guards but lost due to lack of equipment and amount. She was held back by a few guards while she watched Minji getting taken away.

She kept screaming and struggling to free herself, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Then, suddenly her father was in front of her and raised his fist. She saw it coming down and hit her.

Siyeon sat up, noticing the different setting she was in. She was in her bedroom and in her sleeping clothes. She was trembling and touched her face to notice that she was crying.

It was a dream. A nightmare. One that she was rare to have. She looked outside to see that it was already morning. She got up and got herself ready for the day. Once she was ready, she didn't even bother putting on a disguise, just a simpler outfit.

She went through the main entrance of the castle and immediately headed towards the bakery. She still couldn't get the image of Minji being taken away from her.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon went into the bakery to see that it only had one person inside. Minji was nowhere to be seen so she asked her mother that was behind the counter.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. I'm sorry for bothering you, but do you perhaps know where Minji is?"

Minji's mother was taken aback by Siyeon's attire but answered anyways.

"She's at home right now, she's not feeling great so I let her take the day off."

"Thank you Ma'am. Am I allowed to visit her?"

"Go ahead, you can visit anytime."

"Then, I'll be leaving. Thank you once again Ma'am."

"It's nothing, Siyeon."

Siyeon left the bakery and started to head towards Minji's house. 

~~~~~|||~~~~~

She knocked on the door and waited for a while. She was greeted by the sight of Minji that was still sleepy. But soon, her sleepy self woke up when she saw Siyeon standing in front her doorstep.

"Siyeon, what-"

She wasn't given a chance to finish her sentence when Siyeon already kissed her and pushed her in. She closed the door and pushed Minji against it.

Feeling Siyeon's lips, she couldn't think and only kissed her back. She could talk later, meanwhile she had somebody to take care of at the moment.

Minji parted from her and took her hand to lead her to her room. Once they were there, Minji made Siyeon lay down on her bed. Her actions made Siyeon started to unbutton her shirt.

She started to kiss and suck on Siyeon's neck while Siyeon was unbuttoning her shirt. When it was off, she threw it to the floor along with her dress shirt not long after.

Minji's kisses went lower and landed on her body. Siyeon threw off her bra and Minji started to kiss her left boob and massaged the other with her hands. 

Minji put one of her legs on top of Siyeon's and put the other below. Minji saw how it helped Siyeon's desperation below and started to grind.

Both moaned at the feeling of contact, they wanted more of it. Minji grinded on Siyeon rougher to try and pleasure her. Siyeon couldn't help how wet she got as time passed, her hands went to her pants and unbuttoned it.

Minji got off for a while and took off Siyeon's pants. She went back as soon as it was off but still leaving her in her underwear. She saw how Siyeon was tugging at her shirt and decided to take it off and threw it on the floor, along with her bra to join the other pieces of clothing there.

Siyeon was amazed at Minji's body and sat up to kiss it and let her hands roam around while Minji was still grinding at Siyeon. She picked up their pace but it wasn't enough for both to get off, Siyeon took off her underwear and Minji took off her dress and underwear.

It was the first time both were naked in front of each other so they were a little shy. Minji tried not to focus on her shyness and instead focused on grinding and doing it faster and harder.

Siyeon let out a dirty moan that made Minji moan herself. She threw Siyeon down make her lay once again while she kept quickening her pace.

The view of Minji being on top of her and being in control was making Siyeon go crazy. She wanted to see more of it and she wanted to feel more of her. She started to buck her hips upward to help Minji and herself.

Suddenly, Minji grinded on Siyeon in the perfect position while Siyeon bucked at the correct time. The both of them moaned loudly at the contact, they tried to do the same thing and feel it again.

Everytime they did it, it sends electricity through their entire body. They were starting to get close, both could feel it. 

With just a few more seconds, Minji started to feel a knot tying in her stomach.

"Siyeon, I'm close."

"Me too."

They both know what they wanted. Minji quicken her pace again, trying to make the best of it when it was ending. Then, she felt it. She felt the waves is pleasure crashing and she felt white liquid coming from her and Siyeon. Her entire body was on fire and she was sweating.

Her room definitely smelled of something else now. She kept going to make their pleasures last longer. Then they came down from their high, Minji stayed in place. She was admiring how Siyeon looked below her. She loved the sinful view that was given to her.

When she wanted to get off, the contact made both moan. Siyeon felt like she couldn't get enough of Minji, she kept wanting her. So, when Minji laid down, Siyeon straddled her thigh.

Minji was surprised at her actions but saw how Siyeon was. Her gaze was dark and she looked like she wasn't satisfied with before and wanted more. Minji gave in and decided to give her more.

Siyeon started to grind on Minji's thigh without warning. She didn't try to start off slow and only went with a quick pace from the start, Minji saw this and helped her by sitting up and grabbing her by the hips and guided her movements.

Siyeon felt herself getting wet and felt Minji's lips on her body. She threw her head back and grabbed a fist full of Minji's hair. Their positions were swapped by Minji, Minji was on top of Siyeon now.

"I-I want to try something. If you feel uncomfortable just say stop, okay?"

"Okay."

Siyeon was confused but she kept letting Minji do the things she wanted with her body. Her lips that was from her neck went lower and lower. It was on her abdomen and it still went lower.

Siyeon kept getting excited and aroused with what Minji was going to do. She kissed the inside of her thigh while looking at Siyeon. This woman was driving her crazy.

Minji then licked Siyeon's center and loved the whine that was from Siyeon. She opened Siyeon's thigh wider while looking at the view in front of her. Her center was wet and was waiting for her.

Minji started to suck on Siyeon's clit lightly at first, trying to test on how it would affect her girlfriend at first. When she was that Siyeon threw her head back and arched her back, she knew what she was doing was right.

She kept teasing her by sucking on it slowly and flicking her clit with her tongue a few times. Siyeon was getting frustrated and wetter, she wanted Minji now, she needed Minji.

"Please," Siyeon whined.

Minji stopped all she was doing and looked up. This caused Siyeon to let out another and louder whine.

"Minji, please."

"What is it, baby?"

"I can't take it anymore. Taste me."

Minji lifted an eyebrow hearing Siyeon's words. She smirked seeing Siyeon being this needy. 

"Of course, princess. Don't worry."

Minji sucked on Siyeon's clit again but with less teasing. She kept an eye contact with Siyeon while she was doing it. Siyeon's moans were louder than usual and she kept cursing under her breath a few times.

It was clear to her that this was better than the things she tried before. She had a plan in mind for when Siyeon would come later. She smirked again thinking about it.

Siyeon grabbed Minji's hair again, not letting her mouth get away from her. She loved every second of it, she big her lower lip in order to control the sounds she was making but failed whem she felt Minji flicked her tongue.

She felt like she was getting close again, her grip on Minji's hair was getting stronger and she was getting louder too. Everything that was happening was overwhelming for her. She even loved the lewd sounds that were coming from her.

She felt her orgasm again and moaned Minji's name while doing so. Minji let the white liquid fill her mouth and swallowed it, but she didn't stop what she was doing. She kept eating her out and tasting her, she held Siyeon's thigh in place with both her hands.

"M-Minji, wh-what are you doing? Fuck, I came," Siyeon couldn't complete her sentence without moaning in middle of it.

Not wanting her work to stop, she entered two fingers inside of Siyeon.

"I saw how much you loved how I kept tasting you, baby. So, I'm not stopping until I'm satisfied."

She pulled her finger out and continued her work with her mouth. Siyeon wanted Minji to keep going but stop at the same time. She couldn't think anymore since all she could do was take everything Minji was giving her and scream in pleasure.

Minji now put her tongue inside on Siyeon, which made her buck her hips forward and arch her back. Siyeon felt herself getting closer again, this time at an embarrassingly quicker time.

Siyeon's thighs now was closing on Minji's head. Her body was shaking in pleasure and she kept moaning and saying Minji's name. Minji tasted Siyeon's cum once again and she couldn't get enough of how her girlfriend can be ruined just because of her.

Minji helped Siyeon get down from her high and gave Siyeon a final lick on her core. She the got up and kissed Siyeon, allowing her to taste herself. She felt so dirty but she loved it. They broke the kiss to take a breath, Siyeon saw how Minji had some of her cum on near her lips.

She licked Minji's face clean and kissed her after. After breaking their kiss again, Minji laid beside Siyeon and cuddled with her. Siyeon snuggled into Minji like how she usually would, but struggled a little because of how sensitive she was.

"Was that okay?" Minji asked worryingly.

"It was perfect."

"Did hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable?"

"No, don't worry. I loved it. But, I do feel little sore though. I might stay here for a little longer."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, baby. Like I said, I loved it."

"Would it be okay if I did things like that?"

Siyeon was surprised at Minji's words and couldn't help but let her mind wander to more sinful things again.

"Please do more things like that, I want to experience what you have in mind."

"Please? That was unexpected."

They both chuckled and started to feel the tiredness sinking in. 

"Can I sleep?" Siyeon asked.

"Go ahead, I want to sleep too."

After hearing what Minji said, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Minji did the same and both fell asleep rather quickly. Both didn't get any nightmares in their sleep.


	19. Awake

Siyeon woke up and saw that Minji wasn't there. She sat up and gathered her clothes to wear them and saw that Minji's clothes weren't on the floor anymore.

She went out of Minji's room and saw Minji in the kitchen. She went up to her and gave her a back hug.

"You woke up?" Minji asked.

"Yeah, you're making food?"

"Yup, how do you feel?"

"A little sore but it's okay."

Siyeon blushed when she said that as her mind went to this morning.

"So, what are you making?"

Siyeon helped Minji cook them food and ate them afterwards. 

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After washing the plates, Siyeon went back to sit down with Minji on the couch in the living room.

"I don't mean this to be offensive, but why did you come here?"

"Oh, I had a nightmare last night. I woke up sweating so I felt like I had to come here for comfort."

Siyeon scooted closer to Minji and let her head rest on Minji's shoulder. Minji started to caress Siyeon's hair.

"What was it about?"

"The whole thing with you meeting my father. It didn't turn out great."

"It's gonna be okay," Minji gave a kiss to Siyeon's head.

They both fell silent because they didn't know what to say. They didn't even know if it was going to be okay, but still listened to Minji's words since it was the only thing that made them felt better about the situation.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After spending some time at Minji's house, she went back to the castle because of her fear towards her father. She was trying to be extra careful from now on with her father.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

When she arrived in front of her room door, she saw Bora and Handong standing in front of it. She was confused on why they were there, they asked her to come inside her room first then talk.

After the door closed, Bora immediately spoke.

"Siyeon, Did you just go outside and inside the castle through the front entrance?"

"Yes, I did."

"Why? Isn't that just an immediate red flag to everyone? You've never left while everyone was watching you."

"It's fine now, at least I think so. My father found out about the whole sneaking out thing."

"What?!" Both Bora and Handong said.

"What do you mean? How did he find out?" Handong asked.

"He was trying to get me engaged with some prince and I obviously didn't want that. Then, I told him I wanted to choose myself and told him I've been sneaking out and that I already loved someone outside of the castle."

"He knows?" Bora questioned.

"Yes, but he doesn't know you guys do it too."

"What's gonna happen now?"

"He wants to meet Minji in two more days. He wants to know if she's "worthy" or not. But the thing is, he doesn't know that the person I love is a she. I'm terrified of what's gonna happen."

"I don't want to say that everything's gonna be okay, more precisely, I can't. We don't know how things will turn out in the end, but I can say that I think your father is going to like Minji at least. She's one of the sweetest person we've ever met, I'm almost sure your parents will like her," Handong said.

"I hope so." 

That was all that Siyeon could say, the only thing left to do now was to wait. She never thought three days would be such a long time, and the wait would be so painful for her. But there she was, trying to be as okay as possible.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Her mind did not rest well especially when it was dinner. Having dinner with her parents didn't help how her mind was being. She kept fidgeting with her fingers and making her legs bounce up and down without her noticing.

After they ate their food, her parents asked her to have a small talk with them for a moment. They told her that they would order some people along with her to go fetch Minji. They'll prepare a carriage for them.

After her father left, her mother stayed there for a moment. It seemed like she knew that Siyeon was anxious about the whole situation. She might've seen her behavior during dinner or some other time.

"You're worried aren't you, Siyeon?"

"Yes, how could I not be? Father doesn't even know the person I love is a woman, I don't know if he'll accept the both of us together. There's too many problems lingering for my preference."

"I'm sure your father will come to it. He'll love Minji for sure, I've met her before and I already like her. She seems like a nice person and I gladly accept the both of you together."

"Thank you, mother. I can assure you that she is a nice person, one of the sweetest I have ever met."

"I can tell you care about her deeply. I'll try to make your father come to his senses if he loses it."

"I love her so much, mother. I would do anything to protect her and her happiness. I want to make her the happiest person in the world. Even if it means I have to give up and leave everything here."

To say that her mother was shocked was nearly an understatement. She knew her daughter loved the girl very much, but she didn't know her bond with her was this strong.

"Excuse me? Can you repeat that for me again," her mother said in disbelief.

"Even if it means I have to give up and leave everything here. I have no intent of being rude, but that is the truth inside. I'm sorry, mother."

"You don't have to apologize for your feelings, Siyeon. That just caught me off guard for a second, I don't take it as being rude. Don't worry."

They went silent for a while that made Siyeon think that their conversation was over, until her mother spoke again.

"Also, this suddenly came into my mind. Does Minji have a dress to wear? I have no intent of being rude, but if she doesn't, lend her some of yours. You barely wear any and it would be a waste of material if it's covered in dust."

"I will ask her about that, mother. And I think I will lend her some of mine for the sake of those dresses in my closet."

"Good. Now, is there anything else you would like to say? If not, then go to your room and rest. Two more days just in case you forgot, Siyeon. Get the rest you need."

"Then, if you'll excuse me, I will be leaving now."

"You may leave. Good night, Siyeon."

"Good night, mother."

They both bowed down a little to each other and started to head into different directions. Siyeon was glad to at least have one of her parents by her side. She was glad to have a mother like hers.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After entering her room, she changed her clothing into some sleepwear and took a glance at an object that was placed on her little drawer beside the bed.

It was the ring she gave to Minji, she took it off only because she was going to sleep. She wondered about how Minji was doing, she only hoped that her current state of mind was better than hers. It wasn't one where it was pleasant to feel.

She laid down on the bed and tried to fall asleep, only to fail. No matter how much she tossed and turned, she still couldn't even get a second of sleep. 

She sat up on her bed, trying to think of ways to make her fall asleep. Something, or someone, could actually make her sleep better by a thousand times. But going to her would be too much work, and she doesn't even know if she's still awake.

She thought of it, once, twice, trying to make her mind up. Was she going to go to Minji or not, time was passing and the longer she kept thinking, the more time she wasted.

She let out a sigh and got up from her bed. She got a jacket for her to cover herself from the cold and started to go to her secret route. She shook her head quietly as she couldn't believe she was actually doing this.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

She passed by the bakery and saw that it was already closed. She hoped that Minji was still awake so that she wouldn't scare her or bother her when she was already sleeping.

After taking the short glance, she kept on walking to Minji's house.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

She was finally at her house, she went around it to get to the side where Minji's room was at. She looked at the window that was at her room and saw that the lights were off.

She thought of going back again but that all the walking she did would've been a waste of time. She got closer to the window and knocked a few times on it.

She stepped back a little and waited for a while to see if Minji noticed and would open up the window for her. To her surprise, the blinds of the windows opened and saw that Minji was awake.

Minji's eyes went wide when she saw Siyeon, both from surprise that someone was on the other side of her window and because Siyeon was there in the middle of the night.

Minji quickly opened her window quietly and let her in and closed it again, along with the blinds.

"What are you doing here? It's already night time, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I tried, but failed miserably and thought about what or who can help me sleep better. So..."

"You came to my house knowing that there was a possibility of me already sleeping and a possibility of you getting stuck out side of my house?"

"Yes, that is weirdly precise."

"Well then, shall we lay down now?"

"Of course, after you."

Minji got under the blanket and Siyeon followed after taking off her jacket. 

"You really came here in your sleepwear, huh. That's commitment, but are you gonna leave in that too?"

"Don't worry, I'll be back before anyone knows."

"Except for me, tell me when you'll leave. I don't wanna wake up to an empty bed."

"I will."

Siyeon turned around to let Minji wrap her arm around her waist. They let themselves get in a comfortable position and try to talk asleep. Until, Minji said something.

"Tomorrow's the day before me meeting your father, right?"

"Yeah, I'm nervous."

"Me too, I'm scared."

"If it makes you feel any better, then my mother approves of us. She said she'll try to convince my father if he 'loses his sense'."

"That's good to know. And by the way, how do I get there?"

"Me and a few guards will pick you up. My mother told me to give you one of my dresses if you need one also."

"Okay, do I come to you or do you come to me?"

"I'll come to you, maybe afternoon when I usually visit and here in your house."

"Okay, we should probably sleep now."

"Yeah, we're gonna need to take some rest that we deserve."

The both of them started to close their eyes and tried to go to sleep. Siyeon started to feel herself slowly getting tired and sleepier. Minji felt the same way as Siyeon did.

"Minji?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

After the small exchange, the both let their bodies relax and started to drift off to dreamland. Both, Siyeon and Minji didn't get any nightmares that night.


	20. Acceptance

Siyeon woke up and tried to sit up until she felt Minji's arm on her waist. She turned her body around to take a glance at the window to see if it was dawn already. When she saw that it was a good time to go, she looked at Minji and woke her up slowly.

Minji stirred her body and opened her eyes, she saw that Siyeon was already awake and presumably going to leave soon.

"You're leaving?"

"Yup."

"Alright, see you tomorrow?"

"I guess so, I hope tomorrow will be alright. Is there anything else we need to know?"

"About the dress thing, I suddenly thought about it last night before I slept."

"What is it?"

"Remember my birthday gift from Bora?"

"Yes, she gave you a dress, right? Are you going to wear that?"

"Yeah, I think it's better to wear something that isn't from your wardrobe."

"I can see where that could a problem too actually, I wouldn't want my father to comment on it."

"That would be bad."

"So...I have no excuse to go see you now?"

"Siyeon, you're literally with me in bed right now. And tomorrow we're going to meet again, it's just a day."

"True, but still, I want to see you. But that will have to wait I guess."

"Yes, unfortunately you have to wait."

"I should head back now, I don't want people to see me walking around in my sleepwear."

"Okay, stay safe. I love you."

"I love you too."

Siyeon gave Minji a final kiss before leaving her house and started to walk back to the castle. She made sure to not let anyone see her and went to her secret route to her room.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon made sure that everything was ready and was good to go. The horses and carriage was prepared and the guards were also ready. Siyeon was still standing behind the front entrance, nervous.

Her mother came to her and asked her how she was.

"Siyeon, are you nervous?"

"Yes."

"I'm here for you. I'll try to help if anything goes bad."

"Thank you, mother. I think I should leave now, the guards are waiting."

"Okay, be safe. I love you, Siyeon."

"I love you too, mother."

Her mother gave her a kiss in the forehead and watched Siyeon leave and enter the carriage. Siyeon went in the carriage and felt it moving not soon after she went in.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

The carriage that was once moving stopped, she put on a mask she would use when she exited the carriage and went to come and pick up Minji herself.

She saw the shadow of one of the guards that was accompanying her get closer to the carriage door. He then opened it to let Siyeon out and Siyeon went in front of Minji's house's door and knocked on it.

Minji opened the door and revealed herself standing there in the dress that Bora gifted her. Siyeon extended her arm and let Minji link their arms together.

They walked to the carriage and went inside. When they were in, Siyeon took off her mask and she started to feel the carriage move again, taking them back to the castle.

Siyeon intertwined her hand with Minji's and her other hand started to pinch the skin of Minji's hand. The ride was silent and the atmosphere was heavy. 

~~~~~|||~~~~~

Siyeon could feel that they were getting closer and closer to the castle. The closer they got, the more Siyeon became more nervous. 

"We're almost there."

"We are?"

"Yeah, are you anxious?"

"Very. This is not the type of "meeting your lover's parents" situation I thought I would be in."

Both chuckled a little.

"My father will like you when he gets to know you, I'm sure of it."

"Thank you."

They felt the carriage slowly coming to a stop and indicated that it was time for them to exit the carriage. A guard opened the door for them and let Siyeon out first before letting her offer her hand to help Minji get out of the carriage.

Minji said a small "thank you" to Siyeon and both linked their arms together and started to walk towards the throne room. Their hearts were pounding and were threatening to jump out of their chest.

Despite being afraid, Minji couldn't help but admire how the castle looked. Everything was beautiful for her. Apart from the masquerade, she's never seen a place that could be this beautiful all the time.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

They stopped in front of the throne room for a small moment before the guards opened the door widely for the both of them. When it was opened, they continued to walk and stopped when they were in front of the king and queen. The both of them then bowed in front of them.

When she looked up to her father, his expression was the same as she expected. A mix of intimidation and confusion.

"Who are you?" Siyeon's father asked.

"My name is Kim Minji, your majesty."

"Are you perhaps the person Siyeon talked about?"

"That is correct, your majesty."

Siyeon's father turned his head to Siyeon's direction.

"You didn't tell me that it was a girl. Either way, it doesn't matter to me. We can discuss this later on, but for now the most important thing here is, what type of person she is."

He turned his head back towards Minji.

"I am curious about what Siyeon saw in you that made her fall for you and I am also curious about what you see in Siyeon that made you fall for her."

Minji swallowed a lump that was stuck in her throat, waiting for his questions.

"Let's start easily, shall we? How old are you?"

"I'm twenty one years old, sir."

"I assume you're a baker from what Siyeon told me, and if so, which bakery do you work in?"

"I am a baker and I work in my parent's bakery called "Wonderland"."

"I heard that place is one of the best bakery in town, I'd love to try one of your baked goods some day," Siyeon's father said with a small smile.

Minji was surprised but was thankful that it wasn't anything bad. Meanwhile, Siyeon was okay so far and saw that there were no signs of her dream anywhere.

"Moving on, how did you two meet?"

"We met in the day my parent's bakery opened. She came into the bakery and ordered there. She was standing in front of the cashier, wanting to pay but suddenly stopping because she saw me."

"Why did you stop, Siyeon?"

"If I must be honest, then it was because I had never seen someone like that in my life."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I felt hypnotized, father. She looked ethereal to me."

"And you didn't question her?" He asked Minji.

"I was confused at that moment but didn't say anything because my mother asked her to pay before I could say anything."

"After that, what happened?"

"I served her her order and had a conversation with her for a while, we enjoyed each other's company more than we thought and the next day Siyeon came by again."

"Interesting. How long have you been together?"

"Four years now, your majesty."

"Four? That long?"

"Yes, father."

"Even if I tried to break the both of you apart it wouldn't work, wouldn't it?"

The two of them looked at each other and became silent.

"I understand how you two feel about this, trust me. But, I have another question for you and Siyeon. First off, is Siyeon. What made you fall for her?"

"She was one of the most beautiful people I've ever met in my life, and one of the kindest as well. The more I got to know her, the more I see how caring she was. It was only a matter of time for me to fall for her, it was impossible for me not to anyways. Every little thing she did would make my heart flutter and make butterflies appear in my stomach. She's beautiful not only on the outside, but on the inside as well, that was her charm. She made me feel things I didn't know I could feel."

"And you, Minji?"

She took a breath before answering.

"It was because it was her and not anyone else. I was curious about her and wanted to get to know about her more. During that time, I realized I've gotten more comfortable to her than I ever thought I would with anyone else in such a short time. Every moment with her felt precious to me and I kept wanting to spend more time with her, soon enough I fell for her. The more time passed, the more deeply I fell for her."

Siyeon's father went silent for a few dreadful seconds. Minji and Siyeon was scared, thinking if they said anything wrong, even when there was no wrong answer.

"Alright then, my lovely wife, do you have anything to say or ask?" He looked at the queen.

"I do not. I can tell they both clearly love and care for each other very much and Minji seems like a very nice person and I trust her with our daughter."

Siyeon and Minji looked at Siyeon's mother and smiled a little, also receiving one from Siyeon's mother.

"Thank you, mother."

"One thing I know is that your mother is rarely wrong about things and I hope this is one of them. I suppose we can cancel our plan of gathering a few princes and we can see how the both of you will turn out."

"Thank you, your majesty and your highness," Minji bowed slightly to the both of them.

"A few things you two should be aware of, that you should treat each other like how you want to be treated, love each other like how you showed it today, and try not hurt each other in any type of way," Siyeon's father said.

"I promise to do that, father."

"I promise to do the same, your majesty."

"Good, anything else we left out on?" He turned to his wife.

"I don't think so."

"Then, the both of you are dismissed. And also Minji, you can come visit Siyeon in the castle now. I don't want the two of you to have problems visiting each other."

"Thank you, your majesty. Once again."

After that, the both of them exited the room and immediately hugged each other.

"That went amazingly well," Siyeon said.

"I know, thank god it did."

They let go of each other.

"Do you want to have a walk together? I can show you around."

"That'd be nice."

"Let's go then."

They held hands and started to explore the castle, Siyeon showing the way to her room first so that if Minji wanted to visit, she would have no problem in finding her room.

They spent the rest of their time together until Minji had to go back to her house. Siyeon had offered her a ride there herself but Minji had to reject because of her dress that could make horse riding difficult. Instead, they went with the carriage again.

~~~~~|||~~~~~

After dropping Minji off, Siyeon went back to the castle. The moment she got back, she had to eat dinner. During it, she was no longer nervous near her parents anymore. They only exchanged smiles and conversations.

After dinner ended, Siyeon tried to go to her room but was stopped after seeing Bora and Handong calling for her.

"Did it go well?" Was the first thing Handong said.

"It did, the whole "meeting princes" thing was canceled and I get to be with Minji."

"That's great news! Told you your father would like her," Bora said.

"You were both right."

After the small conversation, Siyeon excused herself to get some rest in her room. She felt tired but relieved with what happened today. 

When she got in her room, she immediately changed clothing and laid down on her bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep rather quickly. She didn't get any nightmares that night.


End file.
